Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts
by snowwhistle
Summary: The day before Double D was due to move away, a mysterious, black void devoured the cul-de-sac, and the whole world. Join Ed, Edd, Eddy, and Mario as they realize their destiny as heroes and battle the nefarious Count Bleck in order to save all of space, time, and existence from permanent destruction.
1. One World Down

_Before anyone asked why I skipped over the first two Paper Mario game in the series, I don't own the first one so I don't believe retelling the story based on internet facts on the game would give a fair representation of the game and the story. Also, I've seen so many people using the Thousand Year Door that it wouldn't be very fun to do another. Also, that's average up to eighteen main characters, counting Mario, Peach, Mario's partners, and the cul-de-sac kids. I can't write in that many people. Even though legendofzeldarocks and many other users were able to do that, I don't feel I could manage writing that many people in. For these reasons, I'm doing Super Paper Mario._

_P.S. In this story, the Big Picture Show didn't happen._

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><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>One: One World Down

**Ahem... Today, I will be reading you the story of the Lost Book of Prophecies.**

**It all started long, long ago; when the Ancient Tribe of Darkness welded a book with terrible magic and evil secrets.**

**This book became known as the Dark Prognosticus.**

**People seeked this book in the hopes of glimsing their futures, but no one who discovered this book ever truly found happiness.**

**So it was sealed away, in hopes that it would never be found.**

**But it was.**

**This is the story of the forgotten book's last owner.**

**It is a tale of friendship...**

**It is a tale of love...**

**...**

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><p>It was a simple summer day; the last day of summer to be exact. Today would be the last day that poor Double D would see his friends for perhaps a long time.<p>

The boy's name was Eddward, but everyone outside his family just called him "Double D" because of dual letter 'D's in his name. He was a lanky and pale boy of thirteen years. He liked to wear well pressed shirts and hand ironed shorts, put hygiene and education above all else, and always wore a tight-fitted, black beanie cap atop his head.

Double D had always been a quiet boy. As a little boy, Double D never connected well with the other children in nursery school, preferring instead to dive into the world of his books. This infatuation with books and knowledge led the boy to a life indoors, away from sports and physical activities. The boy grew up to own a skinny body with a weak sense of strength.

From early childhood, Double D seemed to have a promising future. His grades were above exceptional and his intelligence was unmeasured. I.Q. tests were unable to rank his astuteness and even the most prestigious and selective universities had shown interest in him by the time he was ten. All this was very impressive, but it would pale in comparison to the great deeds this young scholar would be destined to accomplish.

It had all started near the final days of his seventh grade year. Double D had come home from school in May one day, to an unexpected surprise. "Eddward," Double D's mom called.

"Coming mother!" replied Double D. Double D dashed into his kitchen where his parents stood. They both had faces with a mixture of joy and despair. "Why the strange looks?" asked Double D.

"Son," said Double D's father. "I know that the economy hasn't been too good. With us getting laid off and all-" He paused, unsure how to continue.

"Your father and I have been out of work for two weeks..." his mother continued. "And- we need money so..." She too paused. After about ten seconds of silence, she began again. "We've been searching nonstop and your father and I have both found wonderful new positions that will pay double our old salary."

"My word!" Double D exclaimed. He jumped up and hugged his parents. "Oh, happy day! I can't wait to tell Ed and Eddy. They'll-" then he realized his parents weren't finished. The look on their faces told it all.

"Oh… your-" Double D knew what to expect. "Your jobs are out of town aren't they?"

His parents nodded. "Klamath Falls, Oregon." his mother managed to say.

"Oh." Double D murmured. His father put arm around his son.

"I'm sorry," he explained. "But family comes first. We need these jobs son. We can't just eat into our savings forever. You're a smart child, you know that." Double D nodded again. He'd known Peach Creek, Minnesota his whole life. How could he just readapt to a new environment? His two best friends were here.

"We did the best we could," his mother soothed. "Peach Creek just had no jobs that fit our qualifications as doctors. There's little violence and few accidents in a small town; now that's not a bad thing, mind you, but that put many doctors out of business here." Double D just kept nodding, unsure if he could accept the fate bestowed upon him.

"There is some good news," his father burst out. Double D looked at him in confusion. What could be good about moving? "The move isn't planned for another three months. We fit it that way so you could still enjoy some time with your friends. We don't move until summer ends." Double D smiled. At least they were trying.

_'They do understand I'm in pain right now.' _Double D thought to himself. _'At least they're giving me time to be with the people I love a little bit longer.'_ "Well, mother, father, thank you." Double D said through a bit of pain. "I- I guess I should break the news to the guys." He turned around and headed for the door. Now the future seemed bleak. Double D may as well live his live the best as he could for the time being.

"Double D!" his mom called after. "You must be home by nineteen-hundred o'clock for dinner or you will receive two extra portions of creamed spinach and one less portion of zucchini bread!"

"Understood mother, I shall not falter!" Double D called back.

Life wasn't all too bad. _'Heck! I have three months! How fast can they go by?' _Double D asked himself.

But ever so quickly, an hour became a day. A day became a week. A week became two weeks. Two weeks became a month. And finally, a month turned into the day right before the move.

Double D started blankly at his empty house. Almost nothing was left, the carpet and wall paper maybe, but nothing else. All of their furniture, valuable possessions, clothes, and other miscellaneous ware had been packed up for transportation yesterday.

He sighed and slowly back out of what would soon no longer be his house. _'I guess nows just a good time as ever to say goodbye to my friends.' _With his ant farm in hand (being the only thing that wouldn't survive the trip inside a box), he slowly began to trot off to where he assumed Ed and Eddy were resting... waiting for the final moments until tomorrow.

...

Ed had been blubbering all morning, and Eddy hated it. Crying wasn't going to make this occasion any more bearable. Today was the last day they would get to spend with sockhead, and of all the times in the world, Double D decided to be late now?

Eddy was best described as short, perhaps just over four feet tall. His hair was brown, stringy, and unkempt, all of it being slicked back with some sort of men's hair gel. His clothes, while not really retro or expensive, but could pass as such. The boy always tried his hardest to look suave and cool, even though the clothes and merchandise he got was often second hand or a cheap imitation of the name brand.

Another great way to describe Eddy was as cheap, selfish, and cocky. If you asked Eddy what his favorite things in the world were, he wouldn't hesitate to respond: "Myself, money, and jawbreakers; in that order." The boy was always involving his two companions in scams and quick business fronts in order to score money, often at the expensive of himself and his friends. He was also anger prone, resorting to yelling, threats, and violence when things didn't go is way.

On the other hand, Ed could be best described as the glue that held the group together. He could also be seen as the foil to his two friends. Where Double D was unusually feeble and intelligent beyond his years, Ed's strength was enormous (seemingly infinite at times) and had the smarts and common sense of a four year old. Where Eddy was self absorbed and constantly mad at others, Ed seemed to love everyone and was nearly always in a stupidly cheerful mood. On top of this, Ed was the absolute definition of a slob, his room coated in layers of molding food, outdated superhero comics, and old horror movie cases.

Physically, Ed was a sight to behold. Standing just over six feet tall, he stood taller than many adults at the mere age of twelve. He didn't have an athlete's build, but he wasn't fat by any means either. He just looked… large! He was a wall of raw human power. He had shaved red hair, pale yellow skin, and typically wore an oversized, dark green jacket over ragged, stained t-shirts and jeans.

Together: Ed, Edd, and Eddy collectively made up the most unusual trio of friends which for some reason had seemed unbreakable… until today that is.

Bitter and angry, the smallest of the Ed trio kicked a soda can into creek. "Gee, where's sockhead?" asked Eddy in a deep melancholy. "He said he'd be here by now. Of all days..."

Eddy sat down on one of the large rocks by the creek in disgust. Didn't Double D actually care about the friendship they had. _'Okay. Sure me and Ed haven't been the best friends, or the nicest people to Double D, but that built character on him. Besides, we never did anything bad to make him want to skip out on us... Did we...?'_

Ed looked up from his crying and shouted. "Our bestest friend in the whole widest world is going to be gone forevers and evers Eddy!" Ed stuffed his head into his jacket and continued crying again.

"Well cryin' ain't gonna fix it monobrow." Eddy moaned. "Double D is leaving! You've had three months to accept it, and you choose now to break down!"

"I'll miss his sock hat ever so!" Ed whined.

"We can visit him in the summer numbskull." Eddy reminded him in a sarcastic and angry tone.

"Why must Oregon kidnap the few and the brave!" cried Ed.

All of a sudden, a new voice interrupted the two boys bickering. "Ed, we're moving to Oregon of our own free will so technically it would not be a hostage kidnapping Ed. Furthermore, Oregon is an area of land, imposed upon by a limited democracy in the United States of America, not a person, so Oregon couldn't really be able to kidna-"

Double D couldn't finish, as he was snatched into a huge giant bear hug by his large and dimwitted friend. "Double D! Now you won't be gone forevers and evers."

"N- Not... quite- Ed..." Ed's faced once again became sad as he dropped Double D to the ground. "I'm afraid all we have is today and very early tomorrow morning."

Ed looked as though he was about to cry again, but then Double D spoke up. "But we have six hours today! Let's make the best of it!"

"Ed is happy once more!" shouted Ed. Ed started jumping and running around like the big goof he was. Eddy trudged up to Double D.

"So, what's the plan sockhead?" asked Eddy. "We just gonna sit around all day, or what?"

"No big scams Eddy?" asked Double D. For once, Eddy had no scams planned. They'd spend the greater part of their summer doing scams like usual. Eddy figured their last day could be spent doing things Double D wanted to do. (Then tomorrow Ed would get Eddy some supplies and he could teach Ed how to build things. Then they'd continue scamming the neighborhood children.)

"Nah, let's do what you want smart guy." _'I'll save the Ed's Skydiving business for tomorrow.' _Eddy thought.

"Well... I'd like to say farewell to our fellow neighborhood patrons, if you will?" inquired Double D.

"What? Why do you wanna say goodbye to those lousy good for nothin's?" Eddy asked with shades of anger in his voice. "They don't like us none anyway! Besides, I thought you wanted to spend this last day with your friends. Not your ANTAGONISTS!"

"They don't necessarily hate us, Eddy." Double D retorted. "Just our scams; besides, I want to say goodbye to everyone who left an impact on my life- Wait! When did you learn how to say the word 'Antagonist', Eddy?"

"Eh... you wore off on me after a while."

Double D giggled, and then jumped a little as Ed burst out of the water of the nearby creek, face covered with leeches and seaweed. "I am the mighty male Medusala of the Rutabaga City of China!" Ed shouted, running around like an animal. "Do not look me through a mirror or you shall perish!" He hopped through the briar and even knocked Eddy to the ground on accident. Eddy began running around like mad, trying to catch and beat Ed. Double D sighed. Eddy groaned. Ed frolicked happily.

_'It's times like these which I think I'll miss most.' _Double D thought.

_'It's times like these I wanna pound Ed.' _Eddy thought.

_'It's times like this I wanna go on an adventure to save all dimensions and the creatures who are beknownst to them.' _Ed thought.

Once Eddy finally caught up with Ed, beat him, and calmed him down, Double suggested they carry on and find the local children. The trio of Eds marched off to locate the neighborhood kids.

It took a while, but they finally found the other children at Kevin's house, adoring Kevin who'd been doing stunts on his half pike with his bike.

Kevin was the jock of the town. He was self-confident, brutish, and also a showoff. It had seemed as if god had blessed this kid with just about everything. He had good looks, consisting of his soft hazel eyes, enviable muscular build with a tall stature to match it, and neatly trimmed red hair that was mostly hidden beneath his signature red baseball cap. He came from a wealthy family that owned a candy factory, meaning he was never short on money or free candy. He liked to display his physical and societal prowess, whether it was on a Jr. High sports team, or through harassing the Ed-boys, as they were called.

Watching him perform were the other residents of the cul-de-sac.

The blonde beauty in the black t-shirt and white tank top was Nazz. She was the heartthrob of the cul-de-sac with nearly every boy on the street vying for the tanned goddess' attention. It wasn't just her perfect short hair or flawless golden tan that caught the eye of the neighborhood boys, but her almost infinite amount of kindness and patience. Nothing seemed to get under Nazz's skin for long, and when she did get annoyed or angry, it passed quickly like a brief summer rain. However, like any preppy girl her age, she was rather vain, indulging herself in the preteen perfect world of cheerleading, make-up, gossip, shopping, and popularity.

Rolf, the quirky foreigner who spoke in third person, was a man in every sense of the word. Though he was at least fourteen and a half, far older than the other pre-eighth graders, he had already entered into stages of puberty that the kids of the cul-de-sac probably wouldn't reach until they were well into high school. His thick, shaggy blue hair had already spread from his head to his arms, legs, and chest. His voice, while not quite on the same decibel as a man's, had already developed a loud, thundering presence. His strength and endurance were nearly akin to Ed, thanks to years of dedicated work on his family's urban farmyard.

Then there was Johnny, a simpleminded child who spent his days playing in the woods by himself. Johnny was socially awkward, being raised by hippies who raised little authority over their wild child. His appearance didn't help him much either. Johnny was bald as an old man (though no one ever asked why). He wore simple clothes with little form or color, and was covered in a thick layer of dirt of stains. His only real companion seemed to be his imaginary friend Plank, who was a foot long board of wood with a smiley face drawn on with crayon. The other children were at times not sure whether to feel sorry for Johnny or be scared of him.

Finally, standing side by side in each other's company was Sarah and Jimmy. Both were around three years younger than the other children of the cul-de-sac.

Sarah was Ed's younger sister. Like her brother, she had red hair (only it was shoulder length instead of shaven). Apart from that, she and Ed had very little in common. Her skin was a peach like color, unlike her brother's yellow complexion; she had a thin build, and was only about as tall as Eddy. Unlike her brother, Sarah was fairly intelligent. She also lacked her brother's warm heart. She was an angry child, constantly throwing tantrums and going into fit of rage. She often took out her vicious rage on her dimwitted older brother, who, being as loving as he is would never retaliate or complain. Sarah and Ed were like yin and yang.

Strangely, there were two people who Sarah had a genuine soft spot for. Curiously, one of these two was Double D. Not so curiously, the other was Jimmy.

Jimmy was the youngest and the frailest of all the children in the cul-de-sac. He had paper white skin, milky eyes, bushy hair so blonde that it looked white, and twigs for limbs. His teeth were held in place by a large, invasive ring shaped retainer that circled his head like a fence. The boy looked sickly, shaking nervously under the summer sky in a blue cardigan. It was easy to tell Jimmy was a nervous and fragile boy who was drawn to tears at meager bruises and frivolous insults. Jimmy was much more comfortable around girls than boys, preferring to play with dolls over sports. Though he was the butt of the boys' jokes in the cul-de-sac, he always managed to find solace and comfort in his best friend Sarah, his guardian angel.

At first, the kids failed to notice the Eds. It was Kevin who first spotted the boys as he was in the middle of a triple spin. As his bike landed, he called, "If it isn't Dork and Dorko!"

"That's three dorks here Kevin!" Ed called back stupidly.

"Tomorrow there won't be." Kevin replied. "Then it'll just be two dorks and their imaginary friend." Kevin laughed and a few of the kids joined in. The Eds did their best to ignore them.

"Yes well-" Double D began. "I'm here to say farewell to my fellow... uh..." he searched for a word to call the children. "Acquaintances." He walked up to the kids and one by one, shook their hands.

"Goodbye Jimmy. I hope your teeth repair themselves someday soon." Double D said in a friendly manner as he shook Jimmy's hand.

"Didn't you have a part in breaking my teeth with your pastry sca-?"

"Yes, well, I'll see you soon too Jimmy!" Double D stuttered, avoiding what would've been an awkward confrontation. He strutted over to Nazz and shook her hand, blushing.

"It was nice l- l- living n- near you Nazz." Double D managed to spit out.

"Awesome dude!" Nazz spoke, as she gave Double D a big hug. Double D just ended up blushing even more. "Take care and have an awesome time out in Oregon." She finally released him, and Double D then staggered toward Rolf.

"Well Rolf, my folks told me to thank your family for giving us all that Shmitten Fraughten as a gift." Double D reached out to shake Rolf's hand, but Rolf didn't exactly shake hands with him. Rolf gave him something called the foot-shaking of farewell, a common gesture for goodbyes in... Wherever wolf happened to be from...

Rolf was an anomaly to his fellow children. He had come to American from his agricultural home country six years ago with only his nana. Together, the two ran a small two acre farm in the back of their Minnesota property. Nothing about the circumstances for their arrival seemed to add up, but then again, the children knew so little. Though Rolf spoke with an intense fervor when discussing his culture, he rarely spoke of him homeland, never providing a name of a country or specific reason for his pilgrimage.

Curious as ever to learn, Double D regretted he would never be able to learn more of his neighbor's unique culture or homeland. All of the sudden, a thought passed through Double D's head. "By the way Rolf, what was in that meat which seems so similar to our common processed sausage here in the United States?"

"Oh ho, ho!" Rolf said smugly with glee. "That was the traditional food of Rolf's homeland. Rolf's culture uses the intestine of a koala, throat of pig, heart of lamb, and liver of a turkey whom was hatched on a full moon to make the said deli meat. After which it is seasoned in the common poison ivy, detoxified with lemon juice, and served on silver dish, as is tradition." Somehow not noticing Double D was about to throw up, Rolf finished with, "Rolf knew you would be pleased."

"Yes... thank you Rolf..." Double D tried very hard not to lose his breakfast and proceeded over to Sarah.

"Well Sarah, I guess this is goodbye." He reached out to shake her hand. "Unless you'll be coming with Ed when he and Eddy visit in the summers."

"Count on it Double D!" Sarah then proceeded to hug him. This was the second hug he had received today. Yet for some reason, Double D found himself enjoying this more than Nazz's hug. But why?

"Uh..." Double D murmured, unsure what to say. "Alrighty then. Great... I guess..."

He slowly pulled her off himself and walked over to Kevin. From the sidelines, Eddy whispered, "This'll be the most awkward parting of the day."

"Let's get this over with." Kevin muttered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out three jawbreakers. "These are from my folks. It's a goodbye present. Blah, blah, blah. Go nuts." He tossed them to Double D, who proceeded to weakly catch them, nearly tripping as he did so. "Whelp, say bye, bye to Johnny and call it a day, huh dorkette?" Kevin said almost to himself.

Double D laid his jawbreakers and ant farm on the sidewalk and strolled over to Johnny, who would be the last parting of the day. "Well Johnny," Double spoke. "You and Plank take care now." He was about to shake hands with the odd boy who made himself a companion with a piece of wood with a crayon face, when Johnny held Plank up to his ear.

"What'd yah say buddy?" Johnny asked to hunk of wood. "End of the world." Johnny said confused. "Are you buyin' into that Mayan stuff. It's always a fad with you, mister!" His face scrunched up, quizzically examining his imaginary friend. "Giant void...? What do yah mean...? Look up?" Johnny turned toward the sky and shouted, "Holy Toledo!"

Everyone looked up at the sky and then, all of the kids' jaws fell open in awe. "What on Earth!" shouted Double D. It appeared to be a large purple void. It was swirling in a counterclockwise motion and produce no noise what so ever. It must've formed around them during the short twenty minutes as they'd been exchanging goodbyes.

"Has Nana become angry?" Rolf pondered.

"This defies all laws of physics. Black holes don't form this close to Earth!" Double D shouted.

"IT'S THE CURSE OF EVIL TIM!" Ed wailed

"Sarah, that thing is giving me the heeber jeebers!" said Jimmy, shaking with fear.

"Should we dial nine, one, one?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah right pipsqueak. I bet they could really fix the sky!" Eddy laughed, muffled by one of Double D's jawbreakers in his mouth.

"Guys..." Nazz murmured. "The ground is starting to shake." And indeed it was. It felt as if a large earthquake had begun to shake the whole cul-de-sac. No! The whole world! The kids found it impossible to stand. Everyone grabbed someone who was near them. The Ed's grabbed each other for dear life. Jimmy and Sarah clutched each other in fear. Rolf, Nazz, and Kevin were bounded together. And Johnny gripped his best friend Plank.

Bright flashed of light blinded the kids. It looked as if the world was disappearing around them. The Earth swished. Colors meshed. Sounds seemed to carry a strange mellifluous hum to them. Whiteness enveloped the world like a snowy day.

"This is like, so messing up my hair!" Nazz yelled.

"Hang on buddy!" Johnny shouted to Plank.

"Jimmy, grip me tight!" Sarah howled.

"This is crazy man! CRAZY!" Kevin roared.

"GOT ANY BRIGHT IDEAS SOCKHEAD!" Eddy yelled. But for once, Double D had no ideas. He thought the world was over. All the kids thought the world was over. They only hoped their ends would be painless.


	2. Flipside Welcomes the Eds

_Oh my god! I am so sorry I had to rewrite this chapter. A lot of technical errors with my computer happened. It went glitchy, I lost files, and I accidentally posted the wrong chapter while making grammar updates! I feel so stupid for not making a backup! UGH! I'm cursing myself every second right now. I know it will never truly be the original second chapter I wrote, but I will make it as close as I can while I can still remember it!_

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><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Two: Flipside Welcomes the Eds

**"Is something the matter, my son?"**

**"I am miserable, father."**

**"But why so? You're of marrying age. It should be a blissful time."**

**"That's the problem, I am of marrying age."**

**"Hmm?"**

**"None of the women impress me."**

**"Not Esmerelda, or Safeeria, or Gaaza?"**

**"All done and over with. They're just heart breakers."**

**"Hahaha! Indeed."**

**"I just wish I could find a soul mate."**

**"I'm sure you'll find someone who pleases you, my son."**

**"Perhaps..."**

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><p>Everything was quiet an peaceful. Eddy's bed felt a little lopsided and he decided he may as well wake up. Today was the last day he would get to spend with Double D before he moved, so he'd better make the best of it. The night had been a lousy one, as he had dreamed the world had ended and- Eddy snapped up! It was no dream!<p>

Eddy stared around. The first thing he noticed was that he laid atop a large marble platform, surrounded by what could be described as emptiness. Strange white, blue, and green backgrounds surrounded him in every direction. The endless patterns of colored skies looked as though they were made of stained glass, almost appearing pixelated.

As carefully as he could, Eddy looked over the Edge of the platform. There were several more floors, and more nothingness. It was like a strange sort of town, floating in a reality of nothingness. Eddy backed slowly away from the edge, fearing if he fell, he would never stop.

Eddy panicked, and snapped around trying to find something familiar. To his relief, his pals Double D and Ed laid passed out only a few yards from him on the platform. He scampered over to them and began to shake Double D.

"Double D!" Eddy shouted as he shook his friend. "Wake up!" Double D muttered something in his sleep. "Wake up sockhead!" Eddy yelled louder. Double D twitched, and was still. "WAKE UP BEFORE I POUND YAH LIKE KEVIN DOES!" Double D finally woke with a jolt, as Eddy yelled straight into his ear.

"Eddy!" Double D yelled. "What are you doing in my room! I'm busy sleeping here! I'm sorry that I have to move, but I'll be out to hang out in a few-" Double D froze. "Wh- wh- where are we?" Double D stuttered.

"That's what I'd like to know!" Eddy complained. "Who builds a marble viewing platform in an empty void!"

"It's an odd world indeed." Double D muttered. "It doesn't make sense though. How can we be surrounded by sky? Or, is this endless expanse of air even a sky or...?" Double D stopped himself, unsure.

"Thank god Ed's not awake. He'd probably relate to some stupid comic." Eddy groaned.

"I say, we should probably wake Ed and tell him of this conundrum!" Double D suggested. "We should all be informed to the current predicament at hand." Double D strolled over to his stinky friend, and gently nudged his shoulder. "Oh Ed... Ed." Double D muttered gently.

Eddy none too gently shoved Double D away from Ed. He positioned himself by Ed's ear, and yelled, "WAKE UP IDIOT OR I'LL GET SARAH TO HAUNT YOU LIKE DOUBLE D IF HE GOT AN F!"

Ed snapped awake and jumped up to his feet. He stood like a cadet in the army and responded, "Sargeant Ed standing on toilet duty for Major Sarah; Skipper sir!" Eddy rolled his eyes and walked towards Double D.

"So, got a clue where we are?" Eddy asked Double D.

"Not sure." Double D responded, peering out towards the strange designs in the air. "The vastness space around us seemed to replicate common stained glass mirrors found commonly in Anglican and Catholic Churches. And the floor's crystaline surface feels like marble, but contains qualities more suited towards other forms of rock. How remarkable."

"In English, please." Eddy requested.

"Ooh! Ooh!" Ed called, raising his hand. "Can I partaketh ineth this chat? Perhaps we have found our way to purgatory."

"Oh really, smart guy?" Eddy asked, high and mighty. "What the heck do you know about being dead?"

Ed put on a ponderous face, and tapped his chin. Then he grew a stupid smile and said, "Leave Ed's response in the comments below, kids!"

Double D and Eddy looked surprised by Ed's dumb response. They were stumped as to what their dumb friend was talking about. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Eddy asked angrily.

"Don't got a clue what we're talking about, Eddy!" Ed replied.

"Lumix." Eddy groaned.

"Ed may be right." Double D sighed. "This may in fact be where departed souls rise to; as is our best explanation so far." Double D lowed his head. They couldn't really be dead, could they?

"Not even close, my mischievous friends!" a old, wise voice called out to the Eds. They turned to see an old man with a fine white beard, draped in long blue ropes, with a twinkling necklace approaching them. Though most of his face was covered, bright yellow eyes clearly showed themselves through the coverings.

"Who's the dude straight from King Arthur's French table?" Eddy asked sarcastically.

"Ooh! I know! You are Dumbledore! Headmaster of school for young soothsayers!" Ed exclaimed, pointing at the old man. "No, no! Wait! You are Miyagi! Fast and nimble trainer of the Karate Kid! No! I got it! You are the old man whom my mom tells me I should stay away from."

"None of the above," replied the man. "I am Merlon. I am a descendent of an ancient people called the tribe of ancients. We have much to discuss, as soon as our company arrives-"

"Wait just one darn second!" Double D stopped, waving his hands to gesture. "What do you mean? And, where are we? This place and all your talk of guests make about as much sense as Ed's logic, and that's deplorable as it is."

Merlon gave a hardy laugh. "All in good time." Merlon reassured them. "First, I will answer you first question. This is Flipside, a town which rests in the space between dimensions. Built here, in the blank expanse, to protect its citizens from harm. But onto more pressing matters. I must direct your attention to above your heads, due east of us."

Curiously, the Ed's turned their heads, only to discover a large gaping purple vortex, resemblant to the one they'd seen hovering over the cul-de-sac. It was much smaller than the one they'd seen of course, but still menacing, even though it was hard to see.

"What is that?" Eddy asked, stupefied. "I've seen it before and I don't like the looks of it."

"It's nearly identical to the phenomenon we observed in the cul-de-sac, minus the exponetial size differentiations." Double D observed.

"That is a rift in time and space; a void if you will." Merlon explained. "None know how close or how distant it is. It looks small now, but will continue to grow, and grow, and grow; until-"

"Until what!" Double D asked, demanding an answer.

Merlon's face grew dim."I shall explain later, at a better time. Now, where are those two." Just as he spoke, the air near him rippled, and out of nowhere appeared a short man in blue overalls with a red shirt and cap. He boasted a magnificent mustace and appeared to be of Italian descent. Beside him fluttered a shimmering butterfly with rainbow patterns across its body.

Merlon walked over to the newcomers. "Red cap, mustace, overalls; my, my Tippi! You've simply outdone yourself with this one."

"He matches the Light Prognosticus' description perfectly, Merlon," the butterfly piped up, sporting a chirpy, yet reasoning female voice. "I'm sure he's the one who will save all worlds."

Double D's eyes bugged out. He stared at the two arrivers with great intent, looking back and forth at the Italian and insect called Tippi, and the void. Moments later, Double D fainted. His fragile mind unsure how to comprehend this illogical scenario, took evasive actions by shutting down.

"Double D is broken, Eddy!" Ed shouted.

"Well, the computer's gotta shut down some time, shouldn't it Eddy." Eddy replied.

"So who're-a those o' three?" The plump man asked Merlon and Tippi.

"Just the coolest people in all the world!" Eddy proudly proclaimed, crossing his arms and puffing out his chest. "Whatzit to you, smart mouth!"

"Eh. I-a give o' you-a o' four, maybe o' three at-a best." Mario replied, mocking Ed with a smirk.

"Four! THREE!" Eddy screamed, his face turning red with anger. "I'll show you a four and a three!" Eddy began to run towards the man like a cheetah, only to be stopped by Ed's powerful arms.

"Aw... he's so cute when he's immitates time bombs," Ed said while grasping Eddy, only angering the child even more. Eddy proceeded to turn and beat up Ed instead of the man before him.

Merlon sighed. _'Maybe the Light Prognosticus was a bit mistaken,' _he thought to himself. _'How are these troublemaking hooligans supposed to be the designated heroes to counteract the Dark Prognosticus.'_

...

A light wind swept across Double D's face. He blinked slowly. _'Oh dear! I've overslept!' _He thought to himself. _'And on a day so precious! I must- I must ready myself. Eddy! Ed! I've got to now or I'll miss my last day with th- What in St. Jehosaphets the Fourteenth!' _

That's when Double D realized he wasn't in his room. It was a small study of sorts. And in the room with him, was Merlon, Ed, Eddy, the Italian, and the rainbow butterfly. Double D crashed his head into the pillow and tried to block out reality. _'I'd give anything for all of this to just be a dream.' _Double D told himself.

"No use try to hide your face. I know you're awake." Merlon told Double D. The beanie wearing boy moaned with anguish and pulled the loose blanket off of himself and stood up. "Very good," Merlon continued. "Now, I must discuss with all of you a situation of upmost importance. Ed, Eddward, Eddy, Mario; you are all-"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Eddy interrupted. "How the hell did you know our names?"

"Your names have been inscribed in the Light Prognosticus for thousands of-"

Once again, Merlon was cut off. This time by Double D. "Hold it right there mister! I want answers, and I want them now! First you tell us we're inscribed in some tome of strange predictions, we're dragged from our homes by a massive tear in reality; which is now somehow where we are, and what happens! WHY IS THIS VOID SO IMPORTANT!"

"That void is the reason your world no longer exists!" Merlon shouted. Only after he'd spoken, did he realize what he'd done. Silence filled the air in the room. He lowered his head in sadness, knowing he'd just scarred these poor kids for the rest of their lives.

"What- what did you say?" Eddy whispered.

"I guess I'll start from the beginning." Merlon sighed. "Thousands of years ago, an unknown figure created a book called the Dark Prognosticus. It foretold of future events and ruined countless lives of those who found it. Within its pages is a prophecy, in which a person could affectively destroy and end all worlds, if they follow through with the prophecy, by summoning a Chaos Heart. An evil item which created the void in the sky you see. My ancestors saw this, and created the Light Prognosticus to counteract the dark one, along with eight pure hearts, together forming the Purity Heart. The Purity Heart is the only item which can counteract the Chaos Heart and vanish the void."

"So that void-" Double D muttered.

"Was designed to wipe out all worlds. Each world will decay at a different rate due to factors in that certain world, but... one thing is certain. If not reversed, all worlds are doomed." Merlon bowed his head and concluded. An eerie silence withheld the room. Not even the quiet breathing, common in silence, could be heard from the members of the room.

"Our folks are dead?" Eddy asked, breaking the silence.

"In a way. It's more like nonexistance, but I suppose technically they are dead." Merlon whispered. Ed eyes began to water. He began to wail and cry, sobbing buckets of tears while slamming his head against the wall of the study. Eddy felt lightheaded. He sat down and gripped the arms of his chair. Despite trying to retain his composure, tears began to fall from his eyes. He bit his tongue, as to keep from screaming.

Double D went into a strong denial. His mind warped and he began to spat out reasons as to why such an event was impossible. "No! No it's impossible! It can't be done!"

"To an open mind, anything can be done." Merlon tried reasoning with Double D, as to calm him down.

"No! It can't be done! The laws of physics wouldn't allow such an event to occur like that! It is NOT- POSSIBLE!"

"There are much greater forces known to us."

"Like you so called magic? Right! I doubt that! Magic is false! Entirely fantasized! Proven wrong over five-hundred years ago!"

"I know this is hard to understand-"

"It's impossible to understand! It's just plain impossible!"

"Clear you mind. Your pain is blocking you reason. Just try to-"

"WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU! IT GOES AGAINST ALL OF MY PRINCIPLES! YOU'RE A CRAZY NUT WITH A STYLISH CLOAK! WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE THAT A CATACLYSMIC BLACK HOLE WITH NO SOURCE POINT OF CREATION OTHER THAN THE IMAGINARY ELEMENT OF MAGIC HAS SWALLOWED UP EVERYTHING PRECIOUS WHICH I LOVE AND HOLD DEAR AND HAD REDUCED IT TO DEATH AND NONEXISTANCE! I DON'T WANT IT TO BE SO!"

Double D snapped. He too broke into tears and collapsed on the floor. All three Eds sobbed, trying to outlast their pain to no avail. Mario, Merlon, and Tippi all stood silent, respecting the three kids' pain. They waited, and hours later, the Eds began to try to put themselves together. It was a process; they had to stop crying, control themselves, and convince themselves to keep on moving. They slowly sat up, and sat down on a nearby couch. Their faces still laced with depression.

"I must tell you, there is good news." Merlon indicated.

"Oh really!" Eddy spat. "What could you possibly have to say to us which could brighten up our day?"

"Your companions from the cul-de-sac are still alive." Merlon reassured them. Surprise and relief spread across the Eds faces. Atleast some people they knew had survived the cataclysm.

Ed smiled. "Hooray! Baby sister is alive!" Ed shouted with joy.

"So where are those gullible weasels!" Eddy asked, rubbing his hands together greedily. "I bet I could scam 'em right now!"

"I don't know," Tippi replied. "I was only able to transport you three here. I'm not sure where I sent your friends. You see, I transported you here, right before your world disintegrated into nothing. Your friends, I sent them elsewhere. Where, I'm not sure. I was in a hurry. I wish they could've come with us." Tippi held her head down guiltily, and fluttered onto a nearby desk.

"So they're safe?" Double D asked.

"For now." Merlon replied. "As I said, each world has a separate decay rate. It could span from minutes, to weeks."

"But why did ours vanish in all of twenty minutes?" Double D asked.

"Perhaps spacial distance from the void, or maybe if your dimension was of small size; both would be affective reasons." Merlon summized. "However, my guess would be to blame poor atmospheric conditions on your 'Earth.'"

"Global warming at its best, kids!" Ed exclaimed. Everyone shot him am offended look, which made Ed lower his head in sadness. "Ed is ashamed." he muttered.

"Now, onto the matters at hand." Merlon continued. "The Light Prognosticus describes that if you four can collect all eight pure hearts and form the Purity Heart, you will be able to defeat Count Bleck. Count Bleck is the evil man who created the Chaos Heart using the Dark Prognosticus. If he is defeated, the Chaos Heart will vanish, the void will diminish, and all worlds which were destoryed will return."

"How do you know this will work?" Double D asked, stumped by the 'chicken and the egg' scenario the two mythical books held. "After all, these are two counteracting prophecies. Which one is right?"

"Here's how I interpret it." Merlon explained. "The Dark Prognosticus says what will happen. The Light Prognosticus says what can happen, thus leaving room for hope, which is stronger than evil. This is what will defeat Count Bleck and the Chaos Heart. Now, Eds, Mario has already said yes. Will you three go and help us save all dimensions?"

The Eds had no idea how to respond. Eddy, having never helped anyone with something in return did not know how to handle the responsibility of helping googols of people he didn't know. Double D was still in a half-state of denial, and was still suffering of his recent losses to think straight. Ed was obsessed with helping his sister Sarah, was sold right away.

"Ed says yes!" Ed shouted back.

"Wait a second, monobrow," Eddy said, grabbing Eddy by the ear. "Let's discuss this, before we do something you would do." The Eds huddled up in the corner and began to discuss in whispers over what they should do.

"I say we should save baby sister!" Ed said.

"Are you nuts?" Eddy replied. "These guys could get us killed! I'm not riskin' my neck to save lord knows how many people I don't know."

"I don't see how that matters," Double D said matter-of-factly. "We're going to die anyway, unless we step up and do something."

"But what if we can't do it?" Eddy argued. "All this pressure is getting to my head."

"Eddy!" Double D retorted. "People from millions of different worlds are counting on us."

"I don't owe them anything!" Eddy crossed his arms in defiance.

"But what about baby sister and all our suckers from the cul-de-sac." Ed moaned.

"What about them?" Eddy asked rhetorically. "I bet if they were here, they'd be saying the same stuff I am."

"Well, I'm in." Double D stated.

"Are you crazy?" Eddy shouted.

"Probably, Eddy," Double D said in turn. "But if I don't act, I'll never see my family ever again; Plus the guilt of leaving all dimensions to suffer through what ours has witnessed would be too much to bear." He lowered his head somberly. "I just don't think I could do that."

Eddy knew what Double D meant. The point was, he was scared out of his mind, unsure if this whole trip would be worth it in the end, or if it would just be wasted effort. In the end, it was Eddy's fragile ego, and the fact he didn't want to look weak in front of his friends which made him cave in. "Fine. I'll find these stupid shiny hearts, or whatever."

The Eds de-grouped and faced Merlon and the others. "Alright," Double D stated. "We're in."

"Good." Merlon nodded. "Now I've calculated Flipside has about a month or two until it meets it unfortunately meets its demise-"

"A month!" Eddy complained. "How the heck are we supposed to save all worlds in a month!"

"Not to worry." Merlon replied. "Mario can train you for a week until your skills are sufficient enough to go out and fight off actual enemies." Merlon told them, pointing at the red Italian.

"Oh great, a fat plumber is going to help us train to fight." Eddy said sarcastically. "Yippee...!"

Mario frowned. "For-a your in-a-formation, where I-a come o' from, I-a happen to o' be a-a faithful guard of o' Princess Peach of-a the Mushroom Kingdom. I keep-a her safe, from-a Bowser, evil king-a of-a the koopas, a-a turtle like race of-a people." Eddy stood silent for a moment, then burst into laughs.

"Bwahahaha!" Eddy snorted. He fell over sideways, and began rolling on the floor as though he was on fire. He pulled himself off the ground, still stiffling laughs. "Yah right! Why don't yah go prove it, and then maybe you can teach ol' super dude, Eddy here, how to throw a punch."

"Okay." Mario replied nonchalantly. Mario cracked his fingers and ran at high speeds towards the left wall of the study, he bounced off it and twisted into the air, landing gracefully only to perform a stunning display of martial arts and fighting techniques. He then did three backflips in a row, accompanied by another wall jump, landing right in front of Eddy. "Any-a more questions?" Mario asked.

"No." Eddy squeaked.

"If that's said and done, Tippi, escort our friends to the Flipside gym." Merlon ordered.

"Right away," Tippi replied. "Follow me, guys."

"Flying glowmoths; geez... What's next?" Eddy whispered to Ed.

"Flying pancakes?" Ed replied without thinking.

...

Flipside was the town on stilts. Built upon platform, upon platfrom, it stood alone in the endless expanse it was built on. Looking down was like seeing the sky veering downwards instead of up. "I would've much perfered if the Tribe of Ancients had built this town with more safety precautions than simple railguards." Double D said, trying to stay away from the edges at any cost.

"Well, here we're very much used to the lifestyle." Tippi replied. "Not really afraid of heights much."

"You can fly! There's no reason for you to be scared of heights!" Double D rebuttaled.

"Excuse me for trying to help," Tippi retorted.

Flipside was a bustling place of stores, houses, businesses, and elevators. It seemed to be the only way to move up and down between floors, as the Eds guessed, no one though stair would be adequate. They perfered the elevators though. Walking up and down these sketchy floors on stairs would be a bit a daredevil rush they weren't in the mood for.

The shops were strange, selling weird assortments like attack items, fortunes, and maps. These seemed odd and out of use in such a place. The diners seemed relatively normal, and the businesses themselves were resemblants of Earth's. What really got the Ed's were the people.

It was as though they were made of blocky shapes, and thick lines. They came in weird colors like teal, yellow, beige, and even maroon. But once they got past the strangeness of them, they found the inhabitance to be nice and kind like those of a small town.

"We're here!" Tippi proclaimed, snapping the Eds out of their inspections of the town. In front of them was the Flipside gym.


	3. Martial Arts and Backstories

_Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Chapter 1-1 will either begin in the fifth or sixth chapter. Not sure how long I want the training and other things to be yet. P.S. I give the Hunger Games movie 8 out of 10 stars. If this was reviewing website, I'd tell you why. But it's not. P.S. Sorry if Mario's accents looks nothing like its Italian roots I'm trying to mimic, but I don't know any Italian people so I have nothing to base it on. Plus, it's hard writing accents into a story. Hope I didn't butcher Mario's dialogue too much. Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Three: Martial Arts and Backstories

**"I'm still unsure about my life, father."**

**"Why so, son?"**

**"I still wish for a woman to call my own."**

**"Like I said son, our tribe boasts a large variety of woman-"**

**"None whom impress me!"**

**"I don't know what else to tell you then..."**

**"I think I need to clear my head."**

**"Where are you going?"**

**"Down by the cliff, to pick mint and sage. I always feel at peace down there."**

**"Alright. Be back by supper. Don't stray near the mud slides son!"**

* * *

><p>Ed jumped, bounced, and skipped around on all the equipment in the large gym. To the Eds, it seemed like a normal gym on Earth, but with some major differences! This gym was equipped with spears, knifes, swords, bow and arrows, shields, axes, and even a trident! The gym owner, a orange triangular man named Pick Aksz said that the gym was stocked with weapons and survival training equipment <span>'JUST IN CASE.'<span>

"Just in case of what?" asked Eddy, baffled by Pick's strange explanation.

"You never know... you never do know..." Pick appeared to go limp and appear distant for a few seconds before he blinked and returned his gaze to the Eds, Tippi, and Mario. "So yah, feel free to use what you like and I'll be in the back sharpening my scythe." Pick walked away and shut the door to what appeared to be his office.

"That man is o' bit out-a' there." Mario murmured.

"I like the way he was insane!" Ed yelled.

Eddy wandered over to the pile of weapons and scanned it, searching for a specific item. He turned around to Mario and Tippi. "Why couldn't they just carry a gun in stock?" asked Eddy. "It'd make this mission a lot easier and faster?"

"What's a gun?" asked Tippi.

"Sounds-a very weak to me!" Mario replied.

"Nevermind," Eddy groaned. "So, what're you gonna show us first? How to wield a sword? Ooh! Maybe you can show us how to shoot an arrow right through someone's heart!" Mario grabbed Eddy and pulled him aside.

"How about we-a start with punches, kicks, and o' flips?" Mario responded. Eddy groaned and sat down impatiently. Double D turned toward Mario attentively. And Ed gazed off with a stupid look plastered onto his wide eyed face. "Today we'll focus on building your endurance, speed, stamina, reflex time, and strength."

"You mean like this!" Ed shouted. Mario turned around, and what he saw made his jaw nearly fall off its hinges. Ed was standing behind them holding nine large weight lifting sets, appearing to use little or no effort at all to accomplish the feat. Mario turned back to Eddy and Double D.

"Does-a this not-a surprise you in the least o' bit?" asked Mario, astonished beyond belief.

"Not the least bit," responded Double D.

"It got old after season two," Eddy replied. "You'll get used to it, sooner or later." Ed slammed to weight lifting sets onto the ground starting a large bang and shattering noise, which echoed through the large gymnasium.

"London Bridge is falling!" Ed commented

"Now yes-a... well... Let's get started." Mario began to show them basic things he knew, like flips, wall kicks, punches, and the fancy kicks he was used to doing. However, Ed seemed to be the only one making progress during the first six hours. Ed of course, being the crazy strong and super insane twelve year old that he was, was easily picking up on his fancy kicks, punches. (Ed didn't fare well with the wall kicks and flips due to his body mass, but Mario didn't really see much a need to teach Ed these things. Besides, he knew how to do a long jump which could help later.)

Eddy and Double D were a different story. Being unused to the conditions Ed and Mario could survive through, they tired easily, picked little or nothing up, and had only learned one or two basic punches by the end of six hours. Seeing how deplorable Eddy and Double D were doing, Mario knew he'd have to try a different tactic to get them to learn these techniques. "Eddy, Double D, assemble by me." The two wheezed with tiredness, and wandered slowly over to Mario. "I'll-a have to try somethin'a different wit' da two o' you."

"What was your first clue, red cap?" Eddy muttered sarcastically.

Ignoring Eddy, Mario continued on. "I see now I'll need to use different techniques to train you. I'll start with you, Eddy."

"Joy..." whispered Eddy.

"Eddy," Mario began. "You like money, don't you?"

"Duh!" Eddy responded with a shout. "That's how you get jawbreakers!"

Mario nodded, not quite sure what a '_JAWBREAKER' _was, but he now knew how to motivate the pint sized pre-teen. Mario reached into his pocket and took out five, golden looking coins. "You see these. These are called shroom coins, the currency of my world, and Flipside." Mario, now fully having Eddy's attention, ran between two large brick walls, and wall jumped to the top. "If you want them, get them!" Mario called waving the money in the air.

"MONEY!" yelled Eddy. He dashed off and bounced off the walls like rubber ball. He stood in front of Mario and pouted. "GIMME, GIMME, GIMME, GIMME!" Mario smiled in victory. He dropped the money in Eddy's hands and the two leaped down, off the left wall.

"Now, try-a that again." Mario told Eddy. Eddy complied, and repeat his wall jumps; not quite with as much enthusiasm as last time, but he did make it to the top.

"Happy Mr. Mustace?" asked Eddy.

"Yep." Mario replied. He then took five more gold coins out of his pocket. "Now try and-a catch-a these." Mario threw the gold coins into the air and Eddy ran after them like a mad man, jumping over all obstacles in his path, and by performing extremely complicated jumps and flips. Eddy then caught the coins in mid-rotation of one of his flips and landed on top of barbell gracefully, almost like a bird.

"Do those-a kinds o' jumps again." Mario commanded Eddy. "Like-a the ones you-a just performed."

Eddy groaned and repeated his jumps. They weren't as high or as poised as his previous ones, but he still managed to pull it off. "Okay. I did it. Why did I have to do that again?"

"Incentive," Mario replied. "Because you-a had a reason to do-a those moves, you-a learned them. That-a is o' how you-a train dogs." Eddy groaned. Being compared to a dog humiliated and demoralized him.

"Now-a Double D-" Mario began before he was interrupted.

"I'm sorry Mario..." Double D moaned. "I- I just can't do any of these things you're showing us. Incentive or no incentive, it's just not working. I'm not bulky and strong like Ed over there, and I am not as nimble or agile as Eddy. I'm afraid I'm just a small, weak nerd who's only real skill is inventing."

"That's-a it!" Mario exclaimed. He pulled Double D over to climbing set. It was basically a mix of wall nets, rock climbing ledges, bars, and inclines. It stretched about ninety feet high. "Try-a and climb that." Double D faced Mario, horrified.

"Climb... climb that?" Double D shouted. "Are you insane? I told you! I'm not one for physical effort! I have no streng-"

"But you're light!" Mario reminded Double D. "And-a if you're o' light-a person, you should-a be more fit to climb-a trees, mountains, walls, and-a such!"

"But-"

"TRY!"

Double D gulped. He placed one hand on the rocky surface. "When will this end." Then another hand made contact. "When will this horrible dream end?" He hoisted his feet onto the wall. "Any time now? I'd really love for this dream to end." And so, Double D began to scale the wall, climbing at a pace which appealed to him. The first thirty feet up appeared to be the rocky mountain portion. Double D grabbed at the wall for any loose hand holds or crevices, using his feet for leverage. All the while, he told himself not to look down. Surely, if he fell, Ed or Mario would catch him. (Preferably Mario because Double D was SURE that he'd bathed within the last week or so. Ed had not...) Still he told himself over and over, _'Don't look down Eddward. You can do this! You are not weak! You are strong! Your friends need you to perservere!"_

Just as he'd reached the top of the rocky wall phase, he noticed there were no more obvious hand holds. Fearing for his life, Double D dug his nails deep into the sandpaper like surface. It burned slightly and caused an excruciating painful sensation in his hands. Double D cringed, trying not to let go. He remained strong though, and finally grabbed one of the swaying ropes that lay above him. Knowing he must move on, he began to shimmy up the long rope.

After struggling with that terror, he climbed up past all the other kinds of terrain bars and wall nets. Double D took each step carefully, being sure not to falter. Often, he'd stop to dry his hands, even when there was no sweat to dry. Finally Double D felt his hand hit a flat base. Unsure, he tested the ledge again. Yes... it was a ledge. Gasping with excitement, he pawed his way onto the top. Finally completing the goal Mario set him to accomplish, Double D fell back and closed his eyes. _'I pray to god I will never have to do that ever again.'_

"Good job!" Mario called. "Only took-a twenty-seven minutes!" His voice was barely audible to Double D at the height he was at, even though Mario was probably screaming just to relay the message to Double D.

"Nice job, skinny."

Double D jumped in surprise and tumbled off the top of climbing set. He shouted his lungs out as he fell, possible shattering his friends' ear drums as he fell. Double D thought he heard Mario mutter, "Ugh... I'll-a catch him."

"Good. Catch him before I go deaf." Eddy mumbled.

Suddenly, as he fell, somewhere in his mind, Double D formed an idea. A long shot, but crazier things had happened with his friends. He could name several examples- NO! Not time to shriek. Time to act! He pulled the sides of his beanie hat, just a little. Not enough to uncover his... head. Just enough for his hat to act like a parachute. He then wistfully floated down like a parachute.

"Here he comes now, Eddy!" Ed shrieked. Then a second later, Double D crashed onto Ed's face. Laying on top his friend, Ed told Double D, "You have bug eyes Double D." Double D moved himself off of Ed, and walked over to Mario.

"Satisfied?" he asked, exasperated.

"Why-a yes!" Mario replied. "You-a proved that you can-a do anything you-a set your o' mind to. Plus, you're agile. That-a means it's-a easier for you to-a scale things."

"Who scared me?" Double D shouted, angrily.

"Sorry." Tippi replied, floating down like a small rainbow. "I meant to congradulate you."

"Congradulate?" Double D shouted. "CONGRADULATE! YOU NEARLY KILLED ME! I ALMOST DIED!"

"I SAID SORRY!" Tippi screamed. "I WAS WATCHING YOU AND I JUST MEANT TO NICELY SURPRISE YOU WITH A 'GOOD JOB.'"

"YOU CALL WATCHING ME PLUMMET TO MY DOOM A NICE SURPRISE!"

"Let's-a take o' lunch break." Mario interjected, trying to break the argument.

...

The cafe across the street was a very... unique experience for the Eds. The menu was filled with strange delicacies like shroom shakes, fried red and green power shrooms, squig burgers, golden choco-bars, chuck-o cola, cheep-cheep nuggets, and many other strange and bizarre foods which tweaked the imaginations of the Eds.

"What can I get you boys?" asked the waiter, who reminded the Eds of a fifties waiter who'd take orders at a diner.

"I'll-a have o' squig burger and some-a water." Mario replied.

"Just some water mixed with honey and sugar," Tippi told the woman.

"Uh..." Double D muttered staring at the menu. The only things that sounded remotely familiar to him were the choco-bar, chuck-o cola, and water. Not wanting to be rude, he told the waiter, "I'll be fine with some water... and the fried power mushrooms I suppose..."

"Pile me with ten golden choco-bars and some of that chuck-o cola stuff!" Eddy said without blinking. Double D blinked in surprise.

"Eddy!" Double D half shouted. "Chocolate has little nutritional value, and chuck-o cola sounds like a carbonated soda beverage, which will offer no help during our training for a long dangerous mission."

"Who made you my m-" Eddy stopped before he finished, remembering that the three of them no longer had parents. He slumped down in his chair, trying to drown out his pal's stares.

"I will have one of anything!" Ed shouted gleefully.

"Uh huh..." the shape-like lady continued. "I got one squig burger with water, sugar water, the fried red and green shrooms with water, chuck-o cola with twenty golden choco-bars, and one of everything for the kid who seriously needs a bath and or shower. That sound about right?" They nodded and the woman left the table.

"Okay, after-a lunch, I'll-a get you three acquainted with o' few weapons." Mario explained. "But enough of-a that for now. What're-a your stories?"

"Stories?" Eddy asked Mario.

"If we're-a gonna spend o' five weeks together, shouldn't-a we get to-a know each other?" Mario was right. If they were gonna be stuck with each other for five weeks, what would be the harm in telling Mario a bit about them.

"I am Ed!" Ed cried, apparently thinking this would be enough for Mario to get an understanding of his life and personality.

"Any more details?" Tippi asked.

"I have a sister named Sarah!" Ed told them.

"Was she the spunky blonde I sent to a different dimension?" Tippi asked.

"Nope! The small, violent red head," Ed replied. "She beats me a lot, but she's still the bestest sister in the whole widest world." Tippi silently cursed herself for not send the other kids with them. She hoped she sent Ed's precious sister somewhere safe, for the look in Ed's eyes told her his sister, while a little violent, was important to him.

"Ooh! And I also like videogames!" Ed told Mario and Tippi, using his fingers to count the things he enjoyed. "And comic books, and T.V., and mutants, and Evil Tim, and sponges, and CHICKENS! LOTS AND LOTS OF CHICKENS! And I like chunky puffs, and Danny Antonucci's work, and card board, and curses, and half rotted spaghetti noodles, and-"

"Does he go on and on?" Tippi asked as Ed continued naming things he liked.

"You have no idea," Eddy replied.

"I don't-a even know what-a half the things he's o' talkin' about are." Mario added.

"Just ignore him. He won't even notice." Eddy suggested. "Guess it's about time I start talkin' about myself." Eddy stretched his feet out on the table, much to Double D's dismay, put on a cool guy face, and pointed towards himself. "I'm Eddy, cool guy extraordinaire! You see, back where I'm from, we set up scams to draw in customers, which result in high end profit on our end-"

"Eddy you realize, ninety percent of our scams ended up backfiring on us, six percent were mediocre failures, and the last three point five percent were destroyed before we even had a chance to make a profit." Double D pointed out. "Even the slim point five percent, which actually resulted in us making cash, usually ended with us losing our profits in some bizarre uncanny way."

"Kill joy..." muttered Eddy. "Anyways, I learned all about my tricks and scams from my older brother Anthony, who is the coolest guy in the world-"

"Not this again Eddy," Double D interjected. "You always talk about how great your brother is. I bet you make up half the things you say about him-"

"That's not true!" Eddy screeched. Even Ed stopped talked at the sound of Eddy's angered voice. "He's the best guy in the world and don't you forget it!" In the back of this mind though, Eddy knew that wasn't true. His brother had always been the epitome of unhappiness to him. Eddy had over the years had told all the kids of the cul-de-sac lies about how great his brother was, in order to feel accepted, and to rebuild his ego and self-consciousness which had slowly been lost his first six years of life.

...

_Six Years Ago..._

_"See yah pipsqueak." Eddy's brother said, a backpack slung over his shoulder and duffel bag in hand. "It's been fun, right...?" he asked menacingly. A seven year old Eddy gulped. The past three years of his life had not been fun. His brother almost constantly bullied him and made him feel like a laughing stock to everyone, even though no one knew about the jokes his brother made about him._

_"Y- yah..." Eddy almost whispered. "I- it's been great... between us. C- can't wait for a visit."_

_"Yah... we'll have lots of fun..." Anthony replied._

_Anthony hugged their parents and gave Eddy a firm handshake._

_"See yah next summer," he said as he left. This was mostly directed to Eddy, who dreaded the visits that would soon return to haunt him._

_..._

Double D knew very little about Eddy's brother. He'd only met him once, for a very brief period of time. Two things about that visit made Double D question Eddy's tales which he constantly spread. For one thing, Eddy only let him meet his brother once. This seemed odd.** IF **his brother Anthony was as cool as he claimed, why not take an opportunity to show him off when he visited.

Two, when Eddy did let him meet Anthony, he showed no sign of confidence. Eddy, being Eddy, usually carried and aura of cockiness and liked to pretend he had manly abilities he did not possess. None of these normal character traits were with Eddy when he met Anthony.

The only things Eddy appeared to show was a weak, unconfident smile and fear...

Double D figured he should be next to explain his life story, not wanting to upset Eddy any further. "Well, my name is Eddward, but my friends call me Double D, hence the two D's in 'Eddward'. I have an I.Q. of 200, I like making gadgets and inventions, I'm a little on the weak side of the strength spectrum, and I enjoy spending time with Ed and Eddy in our summer time money endeavors."

"And he likes helping us with scams." Ed added.

"He already explained that, numbskull," Eddy said, as he knocked Ed in his head with his fist.

"Yes... well..." Double D restarted. "Originally, I lived in Peach Creek, Minnesota; a province in our country called America. But... as of recent, our family is going-" he caught himself. His family- no... his whole planet was gone. "We were planning on moving. I was strongly against it, but my parents had found jobs in a different province in America. The day before we were going to move, that void came and destroyed everything..." Noticing how pitiful he must've looked to Mario and Tippi, Double D straightened up tried to look less dreary.

"Why-a not just-a move in with Eddy or-a Ed?" asked Mario.

Double D thought for moment. Ed... NO! Most certainly not Ed. Eddy... maybe. Though his habits generally annoyed Eddy, they were bound to have a guest room he could use. Eddy's parents were generally very easy going people. "I uh... maybe..." Double D tried to form words. "Well... what about you two?"

"Ain't much to tell," Mario said. "I-a live in the Mushroom Kingdom. Me and-a my younger brother, Luigi, have-a the job of-a guarding Princess Preach Toadstool from-a Bowser and all-a o' his evil minions. Me and Luigi live in o' small house, outside the outskirts of-a Toad Town. Da' town which surrounds the Mushroom Kingdom."

"I don't know much about my past..." Tippi said. "Don't feel much like discussing my recent past either..."

From what Double D could see, the rainbow colored butterfly had had a troubled life before the current events that were unfolding around them. Double D figured he shouldn't press her.

All of the sudden, their waiter came with trays, piled high with food. Most of which would be going to Ed. "Yay!" Ed yelled. "Alien food for all!"


	4. No Turning Back

_Wow! Longest chapter yet. OVER 4000 WORDS! I've added edited bits and pieces of chapters two and three. I gave them more detail, fixed some quirks, and filled in some plot holes with the critique of Yoshermon who's help I appreciate. I highly suggest you reread the second and third chapter. It'll help the story make a bit more sense, and add tension and drama to the plot. Also, one review told me I should try to explore a bit of Flipside. I think I'll do that during the inbetweens when they travel through worlds. Also, sorry about the long wait. I went on a Spring Break trip to a water park in Florida. Lastly, I make a reference to the minions and Count Bleck in this chapter. Tell me if you find it!_

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Four: No Turning Back

**"Ugh... where am I..."**

**...**

**"Who're you..."**

**"Relax..."**

**"No! Leave me...! Ahh!"**

**"You're hurt. Please, let me help!"**

**"No... stay away! AHHH!"**

**...**

**"Oh dear! You've fainted. I must get you to my house!"**

* * *

><p>The Eds continued on with their training after lunch. And they trained for two more days. Honing in their combat, defense, and strategy skills proved to be no small task, but the Eds took it with strive, willing to do whatever it took to save their families and friends.<p>

While still not bring all too skilled with weapons himself, Mario did manage to teach Ed, Eddy, and Double D the basics of using certain weapons. It turns out; Double D had a knack for shooting bow and arrows. His first few attempts were shaky, but soon, he was the hitting the ring right outside of the bulls-eye nearly every time. Every once and a while, he'd even manage to hit the dead center.

"Hey Jennifer Lawrence!" Eddy called. Double D set his metallic bow down and turned towards Eddy. "Check this out!" Eddy grabbed a pack of knives and took out a long thin blade. Grasping the sides, he drew his arm back, and hurled the weapon at a target dummy. It stuck straight into the head of the figurine.

"Nice throwing Eddy." Double D called back. "Still, I would appreciate an explanation as to why Mr. Pick Aksz supplies these things in his gymnasium."

"I wouldn't ask. Might kill yah with his sythe." Eddy responded as held up another knife and threw it at a second dummy. He missed by a few inches and the blade collided with wall, smashing on to the floor with a metallic clash. "Damn!" Eddy yelled in disappointment.

"Eddy, watch your language!" Double D yelled; appalled with Eddy's choice of words. "Such barbaric dictation and tones are offensive and trite, and they might rub off on an impressionable youth who mayhap hear your yells from outside this building."

Eddy gave Double D a bored look. "Keep telling yourself that sockhead."

Ed was busy hacking away at the floor with his newfound axe. Unlike the others, he just appeared to be swinging his new weapon left and right, creating large cracks and holes in the floor. "Paint the puzzle, paint the puzzle, paint the puzzle with my axe!" Ed sang repeatedly to himself, earning him stares from his friends.

"Jeez Ed, you know you're supposed to hit a TARGET, not just whack your axe at the floor." Eddy told Ed in a 'know-it-all' voice.

"Look Eddy, look!" Ed said excitedly. He grabbed Eddy and held him up into the air. On the ground, where Ed had swung his axe into the marble floor, was a pattern of crack stone and holes which vague spelled-

**BUTERD TOST**

"It spelled buttered toast!" Ed shouted with glee.

"You're an idiot, Ed." Eddy grumbled.

"And your point is?" he replied. Double D walked over to see what all the fuss was about. He stood on top of a chair and viewed what Ed had created.

"Ed," Double D said, grabbing his large oafish friend's attention. "Not only is this a blatant vandalism of Flipside property, but that is not the correct way to spell 'buttered toast'."

"Is it spelled with a three?" asked Ed. Before Double D could counter Ed's question, Mario and Tippi entered the gym. Mario's face was flushed red, probably from sprinting. Tippi was barely keeping in the air, no matter how hard she flapped. They'd walked over to Merlon's in order to give Merlon an update on the Eds progress in training. Apparently, Merlon had given them some important news, if they sprinted back here in such a hurry.

"There's been a change of plans." Mario began.

"Change of plans?" Eddy questioned. "Haven't there all ready been about a million of those?"

Ignoring the pint sized ed, Mario continued on. "We... we-a need to-a go now!"

"Go? Go where?" asked Eddy.

"To get-a the Pure o' Hearts." Mario said catching his breath. "What else?"

Eddy's jaw dropped, Double D gasped, and Ed said, "And the start of our adventure it shall be."

"But... but... we were a week!" Double D exclaimed. "Why, it's only been approximately two days and nineteen and a half hours, six minutes, fourteen seconds!" Eddy and Ed gaped at Double D.

"So do you do all this stuff in your head, or what?" Eddy asked Double D, baffled by Double D's latest outburst.

"Look... we don't-a have o' lot-a o' time!" Mario reasoned.

"Yeah, Merlon told us to gather you guys and get back to his house, PRONTO!" Tippi explained, as she fluttered on to a barbell and rested a bit. Mario beckoned the Eds to leave, but Eddy stopped them at the door.

"Wait, wait, wait! I'm takin' these babies with me!" Eddy smirked, pointing to his sack full of knives and blades.

"NO!" Mario retorted. "They're not-a yours! Besides, we-"

Eddy rudely interrupted him. "If we can't take our weapons with us then we learned how to use these stupid things for nothing!"

Mario sighed and facepalmed himself. _'This-a brat is-a stalling us!' _Mario thought. "Look! I'm o' sure we can buy-a some weapons for you o' guys in-a some other worlds!" Mario reasoned. "Now is-a not o' the time to-a go and-a stall us while it-a is urgent that we-"

"Let the boys take em'!" The eerie voice startled Mario, Tippi, and the Eds. They turned around to see the some what insane gymnasium owner, Pick Aksz. His triangular face bore a wide smile and seemingly insane eyes darted between the five people who stood before him. "It be a strange and crazy world out there. Those kids... they at risk. They need to be armed..." His voice faded off. "They need to be safe they do... Take the axe, bow, knives. Don'tcha worry. Me gots some spares!"

"Um... uh..." Double D stammered. "Thank you. That's- uh... very nice."

Ever so cautiously, the five souls dashed out of the gymnasium with their newly aquired gear. They ran (in Tippi's case: flew,) like race horses, either from the shock of talking to Pick Aksz, or the fact they needed to see Merlon right away. Probably both... Pick Aksz tried to call after them, but they had long left the range of the gymnasium. Pick Aksz's eyes became slightly dilated and he began to recite a strange little ditty.

_"Beware the man with a menacing smile,"_

_"Who's cheerful eyes do mask the devil," _

_"He juggles and sings of genocide,"_

_"He'll try to kill us all."_

_"He stalks people from alternate realms,"_

_"He feels no pain for those he's killed,"_

_"I met him once, but long ago,"_

_"He'll try to kill us all again."_

...

Merlon watched as his door smashed into smithereens. He shook his head, unsurprised to say the least. "Ed," Double D's tired voice said. "It's rude to destroy personal property."

"And your point is... smart guy...?" Eddy asked, him too struggling to receive air. Everyone appeared to be out of breath and winded from their dash to Merlon's. Only Ed appeared unfazed by extremely long sprint.

"Eds, Mario, Tippi; I have grim news." Merlon told the quintet.

"Really?" Eddy asked sarcastically. "It seems the past three days of our life have been filled with nothing but suffering! Our whole race is dead. We're being forced into being heroes. Our aquaintances are scattered across where ever. Oh, did I mention that this place doesn't have any jawbreakers? Any more bad news Mr. Fortuneteller?"

It took every fiber of Merlon's calm and usually peaceful disposition to not snap at the pint sized child. "It's been determined you must all leave now."

"But why?" asked Double D. "It's only three-fifty. You told us we'd have a week to train."

"Because..." Merlon began. "I've just come to a horrible conclusion earlier when we discussed how some worlds might have less time than others due to atmospheric conditions and the rate of distance from the void. Well... I now realize that, I'm not too sure exactly sure how long the worlds you will need to visit to obtain pure hearts have left."

"What?" Mario replied. "I thought-a you knew how-a long every world had left."

Merlon sighed, and then stared bleakly at the group. "I know of some worlds. Not all... I'd been studying the so called Earth... for a while. As with your world Mario, I can only imagine how many infinite dimensions there are and how much time you five may have. So it is of the essence you all leave as soon as possible."

"But how will we travel between worlds?" asked Double D.

"Will we need a box of sticky-tape?" asked Ed.

"My people have been saving this for millenia. We knew your four heroes would appear someday. So..." Merlon clapped his hands, and in front of them appeared a swirling heart shaped red rock. It was glowing with a shimmering sort of light. It was reflective like a mirror, yet see through like glass. Oddest of all, it appeared to just float, like a balloon. "I bestow upon you four legendary heroes, the **Red Pure Heart**!"

Double and Mario looked upon the Pure Heart in awe. Eddy commented in a whisper, "How long do yah think he's had that speech prepared." Ed for some reason glared at the gem as though it were a snack he was going to each later... Mario got the idea they should keep the Pure Heart away from Ed.

"First, this is what you must do." Merlon instructed. "Place the Pure Heart in a pillar located on the third floor of Flipside. After which a door will appear a top the Flipside tower. This door should lead you guys to the first world. It is the only door which I know for sure the world it leads to. This door will take you to the Linelands. Before you go there, you must pack all necessary supplies. I will loan you all three hundred gold coins each, and a backpack." He gathered the money and the backpacks and gave them to each of the four. "After that, you will enter that door, into the Linelands. There, I know my friend Bestovious lives. Inform him you four are the legendary heroes and he will teach you to perform a magic art that will help you on your journey. Tippi will help you find hidden things, and guide you four to the Pure Heart. This is all I can tell you."

Merlon finally finished his speech, which Eddy believed was planned out and practiced. Merlon then gave them the Pure Heart, ever so gingerly. Mario tucked it under his arm and held it with great care. Merlon gave the four a final goodbye, wishing them good luck in finding the first Pure Heart, then ushered the four out the door. "Let's get those school supplies guys!" Ed said, happily.

"No." Mario corrected. "First we put this into the Pure Heart pillar, then we get the necessities."

"So uh... what exactly does a Heart pillar look like?" Double D asked.

...

The strange white pillar didn't even look like a pillar. It appeared to be more of an upwards facing rectangular block, with a strange cut-out area in the center which appeared to be where the Pure Heart was supposed to fit. "Well, the Tribe of Ancients didn't exactly focus on architectural design or masonry, I can tell..." Double D muttered; flat out unimpressed with the so called pillar.

For the most part, Flipside's third floor was deserted. There were some white bricks and metal fence pieces. It appeared to be either a long unfinished construction project or a heavily destroyed section of an area. Either way, the place felt very eerie and broken. The only Flipside resident who appeared to be there at the moment was a young child with a square green face who was staring into his fish bowl.

"They could've at least put some ancient scribe writing on it or something," Double D continued. "The pillar looks sloppy and underdone."

"Merlon says to understand something greater, you mustn't look at the shell of something, but the interior of that shell, to truly understand greatness," Tippi explained to Double D, with a slight bit of annoyance as to Double D's unruly opinions about the Tribe of Ancients.

"I am looking inside, but all I see is more white wall sticking in at a slight curve!" Ed told Tippi as he stuck his head into the heart shaped carving. Tippi shook her head and fluttered onto Mario's shoulder.

"Alright! Stick that stone in there and let's make magic happen." Tippi exclaimed excitely.

"This oughta be good!" Eddy laughed. "Hey monobrow! Let's watch this so called magic!"

"Right in front of you Eddy!" Ed yelled as he walked in from of Eddy, blocking his view of the pillar. Eddy groaned pushed the big oaf out of the way.

Mario took the heart shaped stone out from under his arm and held it up with his two hands. He was about to walk forwards to place it into the pedestal when the strangest thing happened. The **Red Pure Heart **jumped out of Mario's hands and flew upwards at great speeds. Initially stunned, Mario ran to catch the precious item, but the Pure Heart only wistfully floated downwards. As it cascaded, it came to a halt in front of the hole in the rectangular shaped pillar. It attached itself to the heart shaped hole with a perfect fit. Then, a bright flash! Light poured everywhere. The space around the five heroes filled with words made of light which seemed to be written in some sort of dead language. Then clock faces made out of light appeared to appear out of nowhere and spin round and round. The white pillar glowed red, if just for a moment, and then, all the red lights and hues of words, pictures, and clocks disappeared, leaving behind the white pillar with the **Red Pure Heart **now embedded in it.

The group stayed quiet for a few minutes. Eventually, Tippi turned to Double D and spoke. "So, do you still think the Tribe of Ancients is lacking design and creativity?"

"N-no..." Double D meekly replied. Even after experiencing so much over the past day, Double D was still finding it hard to except all these strange and magical things at once.

"Those lights nearly blinded me!" Eddy muttered. "Reminds me a light show my big bro took me to once." Double D rolled his eyes.

All of the sudden, a small squeaky voice appeared from behind them and spoke. "Can I have your autographs!" the kid who'd been playing with his goldfish asked. "That was the coolest magic show that I've ever seen!" He held out in front of him, a piece of orange paper, and a green pen. Eddy smirked and then began to act all cool.

"Sure kid." he told him. Eddy snatched the paper and pen, and signed the paper as-

_Eddy... Super Guys Cool Man Awesome Extraordinaire! Also a Jawbreaker factory owner_

Eddy handed the paper back the giddy square shaped boy. "I will sign too child of polygons!" Ed told the kid. He took the pen and began to sign the kids head as-

_I am Lothar, beest slay-yer of the deep_ _I protekt buterd tost and gravee suplys frum thu minyuns of Hades! I am allso Ed_

"Yah uh... thanks..." the kid said to Ed and walked away. The boy spit into his hand and began to try to remove the ink from his forehead.

"Ain't I a natural with kids?" asked Ed to no one in particular.

"I-a pray he never-a has o' kids." Mario commented.

...

Howzits store could be compared as the Wal-Mart of Flipside. Just on a much smaller scale. The store was stocked with the strange foods the Eds had had for lunch, attack items such as fire flowers, ice storms, thunder volts, and earthquake rocks; survival gear, toys, Flipside movies, greenery, tools, and many other assortments. Double D almost questioned why a store would stock regular items, with weapons and survival gear, but based on the outlook of his previous twenty-four hours, Double D figured it probably wasn't worth asking.

Howzit himself was friendly man. He was made of constantly moving shapes, and his head was like an orange octagon. Howzit wore a blue cap and always seemed to be in a good mood. Howzit also seemed to speak in some kind of southern accent. "How's it going?" Howzit asked the five customers who walked into his store. "Why Tippi!" he exclaimed as he eyed the rainbow butterfly. "Yo' wings seem tah glisten more and more by duh day! You puttin' new powduh on 'dem?" he complimented.

Tippi blushed. "Why thank you Howzit. We're lookin' for food, survival gear, and attack items."

Howzit smiled, as if he wasn't smiling all the time anyway. "Why shoot! Sure can do!" He pointed them down a long aisle. "I'll get yah and yo' two friends some o' dat stuff!" Tippi flinched. 'TWO FRIENDS?' Tippi, Mario, and Double D turned around to find Eddy and Ed gone from where they had been standing a moment ago.

"Oh, where-a are those-a two boneheads now!" Mario bellowed.

...

Ed was busy walking down the comicbook section, indulging himself in the strange and odd new comics which were printed in Flipside. "Shape-shifters from another realm!" Ed yelled in excitement. "Chunkers from the third world!" Ed screeched. "The hidden evil from crazy people land!" Ed shouted with glee. "The lost love of the dark stranger!" Ed bellowed in happiness.

Eddy was busy stuffing his backpack with sweet and other assorted goods from Flipside. He tried some of these candies without purchasing them and declared they were ten times better than jawbreakers. He stuffed his entire bag with the contents of the shelves.

...

Mario, Double D, and Tippi stared furiously at Eddy and Ed as they left Howzit's. "I can't believe you two!" Double D yelled. "Merlon gave us that money to use on necessities for a dangerous journey! NOT CANDY AND COMICS!"

"How-a do you expect to o' survive in these worlds without-a survival gear and attack items!" Mario shouted.

"Calm down you guys!" Eddy replied nonchalantly. "I got some attack items and a sleeping bag." Eddy reassured them by opening his backpack up for them. Indeed under the piles of candy was a few attack items and a sleeping back.

"And I got some buttered toast and gravy with my comics!" Eddy told them. Double D and Mario cast the duo grim and sullen looks which told the two it'd be best not to speak. The walk to the Flipside elevator and the ride up to the Flipside tower inside the elevator were celebrated in silence. The group exited the elevator and the quintet noticed now that double doors in the far left corner of the balcony. No doubt the first Pure Heart's magic had made it appear. Yet... there was no tunnel or anything behind the door. There was nothing magical about it at all, just simple wooden double doors that were a bright red.

"Nothing ventured nothing gained, I suppose," Double D inquired as the group approached the doors. Mario reached forward, grabbed both handles, and pulled them back. Expecting to see nothing there, a strange entry way appeared behind the door. It was like looking into a starry sky at night. Yet... that was all to be seen. And... It didn't exactly feel like a sky or portal. None of the five were too sure what it was.

Double D peered behind the doorway and saw no such entrance there. In fact, he could clearly see his friends and the endless space beyond Flipside, but they could not see him or the endless space beyond Flipside. It was a one way visible and one way tangible entry way. "Odd..." Double D pondered. "The entrance is only visible and enterable from in front of the double doors."

_'I will do it! For my family, my friends, and... I have to do this to prove I can stand up for myself. I'm not just the helpless nerd! I will make my parents proud!' _Double D mentally shouted to himself. His hands balled into fists, he looked at the entry way, with mixtures of pride, nervousness, and a longing to run away in his mind.

_'Bro, you told me I was nothing! Look at me now! I'm saving the universe. I'm also saving you too! When I get back, you're gonna be the one kissing my feet. And I'll finally get the respect you never gave me. How's that for a pipsqueak?' _Eddy told himself, as he grabbed a the chain and antique watch he kept in his pocket. The only sincere gift his brother had ever given him.

_'We're going on an adventure. Adventures are fun! We get to save the planets of the minions from another domain! Don't worry baby sister. Big Ed is coming! Ed will save you from the purple blob of art in the sky. And I'll get you buttered toast and um... Ed shall... uh... um..." _Ed's mind slowly trailed off.

_'Here we go again.' _Mario simply told himself.

_'Uh... what is this feeling? Who do I- is it my past? N- no... It- it couldn't be! But... who is that man I keep seeing?' _Tippi wondered.

"Together?" Mario asked.

"Together." Double D replied.

"Let's do it." Eddy said, trying to hold onto what little confidence he had left.

"Ed is ready," Ed said in a shaky voice.

"Yes, all at once," Tippi said, mostly to herself.

The four humans grasped hands, and Tippi fluttered onto Mario's shoulders. Unsure what they would find, the five wandered off into the unknown.


	5. To the Linelands, My Minions

_I will begin by saying if you haven't figured it out yet, this story will not be told from a 2D perspective. Also, "Flipping" as it's coined in the Super Paper Mario videogame will not act as a mechanic in this story. I plan to make up entirely different power which Bestovious will grant them. If you wanna find out what that is, you'll have to go forward and read the story. One more thing, I had to make up an explanation as to how one of Count Bleck's minions was able to go between dimensions seeing as how his arrivals into the other worlds were unexplained in the game._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Five: To the Linelands, My Minions

**"Uh... Wh- Where am I?"**

**"Just relax for a moment."**

**"Who are you?"**

**"You were hurt. You tumbled from the cliffside. The mudslides are a treacherous place to stand."**

**"Where am I?"**

**"My house. I've treated your wounds. You're lucky to be alive."**

**"Who are you, again? I don't recall you telling me."**

**...**

**"You- You're... You're a human. A human?"**

* * *

><p>In a room dark as night and empty as space, a lone figure was skimming page after page of thick, black book, bound with red lining and adorned with a blue crystal. Count Bleck stood alone, standing on his podium as he researched the future. Apart from the four floating platforms that surrounded his balcony, the room was barren. Bleck himself was tall, maybe seven feet. His height was even more exaggerated by his white top hat. Count bleck had purple skin and bright orange eyes, one of which was hidden by a thick monocle. He draped himself in a while cape and matching suit, and held a large cane adorned with a gleaming sapphire.<p>

"Nastasia," groaned Count Bleck, as he flipped through the pages of the Dark Prognosticus while tapping his cane in an antsy manor. A a small woman with tightly bound purple hair and blue skin, wearing a secretary uniform, appeared out of thin air with a sharp crack. She pushed her glasses back into place and responded.

"Um... yes Count?" she said.

"Status report."

"'K sir, so far your plans are on schedule," Nastasia told him as she shifted her glasses. "Approximately um... one-hundred worlds have been swallowed, most of Bowser's army has sworn allegiance to us- via mindsweeping of course. Oh uh... and your finest minions should arrive soon for their daily meeting with you, 'K." Nastasia swallowed nervously. Bleck caught it, and knew instantly bad news would soon arrive.

"Yes... Nastasia," Count Bleck beckoned. He closed the Dark Prognosticus and settled it into a space of air beside him.

"'K, sir. There's been- uh... some unreported interdimensional travel. Happened as ah ten minutes ago Bleck. Sir! I mean..." Nastasia frowned and was quiet. Bleck nodded.

"Of course," Bleck replied. "Something else?" he asked, noticing she was hiding something from him.

"It may be- uh... Sir it... The legendary heroes," she stuttered. "The four who try to oppose you, as foretold in the Dark Prognosticus." Bleck listened and nodded.

"I shall discuss this with my three strongest subjects." Count Bleck reassured her. "It is probably just some goof with teleportation powers. Even if they are these so called heroes, how tough can a four jestures with magic or crude weapons be. I already took on that Mario character in his own dimension. He was said to be the strongest of his people. It just goes to show you, even the strongest fall to me Nastasia." Even as Count Bleck told her of his strength a part of Nastasia remained unconvinced.

The two remained in silence until a large beefy man ran into the chamber from the hall door and hopped up onto the lowest platform near. Well, you couldn't exactly call him a man. He could feintly remind one of a human, but he was three times as large as a man, and with a much blockier build. His skin was orange, and he boasted a large red beard, ironically carrying no hair on his head. His eyes were bulging and he wore a red tunic, suited with armor. He also had fitted himself with metal gloves with spikes which probably multiplied the power of his already deadly blows! Curiously, he wore a green watch for no particular reason.

"O'Chunks," Count Bleck laughed. "I have a task for you! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

"Oy' sher Coun'" O'Chunks replied, speaking with a think Irish. "Yah can coun' on meh, ser...!"

All of the sudden, a second O'Chunks burst into the room. "'Eh, sorry I be late Coun'!" the second O'Chunks stammered. "I wus jus' dashin' 'ere-" He stopped at the sight of the first O'Chunks. "'Ey! 'Ow's dat possible? I awready beat meself 'ere?" The original O'Chunks disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced with an epigy of Count Bleck.

"Oh silly O'Chunks," the copy of the Count giggled. "You're just such a gullible little guy, aren't you!" The Count Bleck double spoke in such a way which suggested the shapeshifter was a girl.

"Yah don' fool meh fer one secon' Mimi!" O'Chunks shouted in embarressment, and he hopped onto a platform next to the so called Mimi. "An' by duh way, whatz wid yah imitatin' duh Coun'. It be disrespectful, it is!" Mimi poofed and appeared as green man who resembled Mario in many ways.

"Ooh... I'm shaking in terror!" Mimi said sarcastically. "No! Seriously, I'm quivering in me boots with fright!" Before the arguement could worsen, the air around the third platform seemed to dip like water when a drop hits the still surface. A clown like gestured appeared when the air had distilled.

The person appeared to be dressed in purple, yellow, and black clothes. He wore a slightly altered version of a hat a royal fool of a palace might wear, with five spikes on it which seemed to magically stay erect. The rest of his attire was also resemblent of a royal fool's clothes. His face was half black and half white, creating the illusion that he wore a drama or theatre mask. He hovered in midair, never touching the floor. The most unsettling thing about the fool was his deep unnerving smile. It seemed to hide many secrets and appeared to be lined with murder at its lips. "Oh, what merryment have I missed as I was out?" the man asked with a giggle.

"Nothun' Dimentio," O'Chunks replied. "Jus' Mimi bein' uh spaz as usual. Don' even got duh dignuty to show up tuh duh Coun's meetin's widout some ridiculous disguise."

Mimi disappeared in smoke again, and reappeared as Dimentio. "Oh, how laughable!" she taunted.

"Quite a likeness," Dimentio mused. "Am I really such a handsome devil?"

"Quiet minions!" Count Bleck ordered. "Nastasia here has recently informed me of some unreported interdimensional travel, which under my authority is not allowed." The minions nodded apathetically. "There is a slight chance they may be the four heroes prophecised. These hooligans must be stopped! If they are not, our plan to destory all worlds to create new perfect ones shall be thwarted. I can't bear to see who'd try to stop such a noble plan."

"Oh, I'm trembling with anticiapation!" Dimentio exclaimed. "No more nasty, icky worlds! Only great new worlds of happy, frolick, and fun! All those terrible, terrible curses of worlds will be wiped out like pencil marks who've met an eraser!"

"Yeah!" Mimi agreed. "No one likes all those disgusting evil places anyway! Soon we'll have better new worlds!"

"'Ay Coun'!" O'Chunks called to his master. "Can yah make 'eh wh-orld where everybod' gotta drink ale an' eat pork, and sing songs uh merrimen' an all dat good stuffs?"

"Of course," Bleck replied with a smile. "When the plan is through, I will give all my loyal minions a world of their own to enjoy."

Mimi transformed into a blonde haired human, with a flowing pink dress, a golden crown with jewels, and a cheerful smile. "Golly, the only world I could dream of living in is a world where I could see the Count's smilin' face day in and day out."

"And here I thought Mimi's idea of a perfect world was large resort with a pool filled with gems and jewels, surrounded by hunky koopa lifeguards." Dimentio added.

Mimi's face darkened and she disappeared in smoke, reappearing as a large lizard-turtle hybrid with huge spines on its green shell, firey red hair, yellow skin, and pale green eyes. "WHAT WAS THAT DIMENTIO!" Mimi roared. "Have you been reading my dia-" Mimi stopped herself, realizing what she was about to say. She blushed and returned to the form of the blonde woman. "I mean... nevermind."

"Quiet minions! When these other worlds are gone, I shall fulfill your wildest dreams." Count Bleck promised. "But for now, we must deal with the mysterious dimensional trespassers." He pointed his sceptor towards O'Chuck. "O'Chunks, I am sending you out to obliterate the menaces! Go to the Linelands and intercept him" O'Chunks nodded with pride.

"Yah can coun' on meh, boss! I'yull gib 'em a good chunkin'!" With that O'Chunks pressed a button on his watch. A holographic touchscreen appeared in front of him. He scrolled through the lists until he found the Linelands and touched the image. He vanished in an electric burst. Count Bleck gleamed with pride. He'd handmade the watch so his one minion with no ability to teleport wouldn't be at a complete disadvantage. It worked well enough, but was still a slow way of going between worlds. Count Bleck shrugged it off. Soon there'd be no need to between any of these useless worlds...

"Oh boy!" Dimentio chimed. "I love a good, 'chunking.' I think I shall go to watch." The air around Dimentio began to distort and dip like water in a pond and implode. In a second, Dimentio was gone.

"Oh joy! A throwdown!" Mimi yelled happily as she poofed into a bipedal turtle for no particular reason. "I hafta see this!" Just as she was about to disappear too, Nastasia stopped her.

"Nope, uh... sorry Mimi. You know dah rules. 'Least one minion's gotta be here on guard at all times, K'." Nastasia explained, as if she'd done it a million times.

"Ah...!" Mimi whined. "But it's boring here!" She gave up, and with that the turtle like creature began spinning and spinning until she vanished into thin air, presumably going to her post.

"Nastasia," Count Bleck spoke. "Be a dear and round up the last of the resistors, will you?"

"Oh, uh... sure thing, K'." Nastasia then teleported off to track down the last of the resistors. Alone, Count Bleck gazed off, vaguely aware of where he was.

"Where did you go?" he asked no one in particular.

...

Everything was black, but not for long. Soon, sunlight poured in on the five travelers. Adjusting their eyes, Ed, Eddy, Double D, Mario, and Tippi gazed at what they saw. The landscape was an endless plain with scattered trees here and there. They appeared to be oak, Double D told the others, but he pointed out the leafs were shaped in rectangular patterns which was highly unusual, combining with the fact that the trees were a slightly lighter shade of brown than oak. Bushes were also seen there and there. A strange floating yellow box with a questions mark was spotted about two-hundred yards away. In the sky, lay the ominous void...

This void was about the same size as the one in Flipside. Perhaps slightly larger. This world would have a long time before it vanished. Still, no one enjoyed the sight of the purple menace, hanging about their heads. "This thing just won't leave us alone, will it?" Eddy commented.

"It does not respect the personal bubbles!" Ed shouted.

"Lifeless spaces of vast nothingness can not respect, or for that matter, feel, Ed." Double D corrected.

"Just like upright turtles!" Ed agreed.

Eddy replied with a smack in the face. "What are you talking about, stupid!"

"I believe Ed was refering to those homosapient creatures, Eddy," Double D told Eddy, pointing out in the distance.

It was true. Out in the distance, they could see two legged mushrooms with eyes, and turtles with green and red shells who stood upright as they walked through the fields. Some even had wings! The Eds couldn't make heads or tails of this place. Mario seemed relatively unfazed, as did Tippi.

"And that's my cue to leave," Eddy said. He turned around, but the door they'd come through was gone. No return door lay where they had entered. They were truly stuck here. Well, not entirely stuck. Tippi could teleport, but it would waste energy and severely tire her. Best only try to return to Flipside when the mission was complete or their situation became grave.

"Oh great! Now we're stuck in this meadow with all the freak shows!" Eddy groaned.

"Linelands, indeed... hmm... What a strange sort of place," muttered Double D. "What are those creatures?" Double D asked, pointing at the mushrooms and turtles.

"Koopas and o' goombas." Mario explained. Seeing the confusion on the Eds faces, Mario went into more depth. "Koopas are-a the people who-a wear o' the shells. Goombas are-a the tiny o' mushroom-a people. Strange though... koopas and-a goombas work-a for Bowser-"

"That evil turtle person you told us about?" Eddy asked.

"Yeah, but... Well not all-a of o' them are-a in allegiance with-a Bowser," Mario clarified. "In-a o' Mushroom Kingdom and-a other territories in o' my world, only about-a two-thirds of o' goombas support-a Bowser, and only o' about a third-a of koopas support-a Bowser. This raise-a the quesion, is-a Bowser here, or o' did they naturally evolve-a here."

"I thought Merlon said Count Bleck was the villain here?" Eddy said, clutching his head in confusion.

"He is, but..." Mario said. "I'm not-a sure if these-a guys are o' friendly or-a not. It's-a best we-a avoid them." The group nodded.

"What are those small pink box things?" Eddy said, pointing to the small red and purple animals in the field. They were indeed shaped like boxes. Appearing in various shades of red and purple, they had two small beady eyes, a spinning tail, four legs, and a large, yellow, o-shaped mouth.

"I'm...-a gonna be honest here." Mario admitted. "I have-a no god-a damn clue."

"Shall call them, snuffaluffles!" Ed proclaimed. "As they remind me of the colorful balloon elephants from Dumbo." Everybody gave Ed a vague glance, but decided it wasn't worth trying to come up with a response which Ed would surely counter with an even dumber statement.

"They look unintelligent and primative." Double D commented. "Almost like a common wild game."

"Perfect!" Mario exclaimed. "Shoot one, cook it up, and we have dinner!" Double D and Tippi though that was an excellent plan. Ed said he wasn't hungry, as he had eaten his socks for lunch. Eddy frowned, noting that he'd rather try to digest the cafeteria food at Peach Creek Jr. High. "Now, on-a to more o' pressing-a matters. Anything on-a the Pure Heart, Tippi?" Mario asked his tiny companion.

"Yes, but it's far. Very far." Tippi replied.

"How far is far, because sometimes far can mean close, close can mean maybe, and when my mom says 'maybe' she really means 'no'." Ed said.

"Well, not quite Ed, but yes... how far will we travel?" asked Double D.

"Anywhere between fifty and seventy miles." Tippi estimated. Everyone clearly wanted a more clear answer. "I can only sense the direction of the energy and how strong it is." Tippi clarified with hints of anger in voice from the annoyance at the group's obvious frustration. "I'm sorry! It's really tough to make accurate estimates with my very basic senses."

"Great, we barely got a clue where we're going, and we're no where near this magic rock!" Eddy yelled in anger.

"So where we goin' guys?" Ed asked, as if he hadn't paid a lick of attention to half of the conversations that'd taken place in the last few days. In fact, he probably hadn't. The only things he most likely remembered were, _'Earth gone, Family Dead, Ed sad, Chance to save Earth, Ed happy, Count Blah! evil, Find Shiny Harps!, Potato Skins with Non-granulated Oils YUM!'_

"Well, I assume we'll have to find this- Bestovious first," Double D assumed. "Am I correct, Tippi?" asked Mario.

"Yes." She replied. "Now the only question is, where is he?"

"Can't you sense him or somethin'?" Eddy asked.

"No. I can only feel the essence of a Pure Heart. Not people." Tippi explained. "But I guess that he may be located in the direction of the Pure Heart."

"Why is-a that?" Mario questioned.

"Bestovious is supposed to grant us a power that will help us. I can only assume he'd be within the path that leads to the Pure Heart." Tippi herself wasn't sure that was true, but it was the only thing the group had to go on at the moment.

"All-a right, lead-a the way Tippi." Mario told the butterfly. He turned to the Eds. "You guys follow-a me, a o' stay low. If-a something attacks us, I'll-a make o' the first move." With that, the group began their trek to find Bestovious. Everyone hopeful that soon, they'd obtain the first Pure Heart... except Eddy; who proclaimed,

"We better be getting paid for this."

...

After an hour or so of traversing the Linelands, the party had begun to grow more and more confident, slowly edging out of the tall grasses, and walking into more open areas. However, this proved to be their mistake. As the group grew less alert, they had dropped their guard. No one noticed the koopa shell spinning violently at the five. It collided with the nearest member of the party, and sent that person spiraling into a tree. Fortunately, it was Ed who seemed to never feel pain that wasn't of a serious nature.

With his head stuck in a tree, Ed comically told the group, "When life gave me lemons, it sent me straight into a lemon tree." The other four stared at Ed with expressions of confusion and disdain.

"Wh...at..." Mario responded. That brief moment gave the koopa time to come around for another attack. The turtle slammed his shell into Mario chest, causing him to heave on the ground, winded. The koopa popped out of his shell, and grasped the Italian's throat. Oddly, his eyes were purple. _'Strange.' _Mario managed to think as he slowly lost oxygen. _'Koopas have green eyes. Why are his purple.'_

"So, you're the fools who dare oppose Count Bleck!" The koopa spat at Mario. Everyone flinched. How did he know that name? "Well... I guess I'll just have to kill you five. Maybe I'll be promoted to one of the head minions. Might even recieve a reward for doin' in you three." The turtle held his fist up punch Mario, but as he swung his arm down, an arrow pierced his shoulder. He hollered in pain and collapsed.

Double D lowered his bow, and sighed. Eddy faced Double D with a surprised look on his face. "What was that!" Eddy yelled at Double D. "You missed his vitals!" Double D gave Eddy a genuine expression of shock.

"Eddy! I refuse to coldheartedly murder anyone on this excursion!" Double D defended.

"Why not?" Eddy asked. "He tried to kill us."

"I will not stoop to a villain's level!" Double D retorted.

"Then you're easy prey," Tippi told Double D. Double D gave Tippi a defiant stare. "Look, I'm just trying to say, these people mean business and you've got to act accordingly," Tippi reasoned. "Sooner or later, you'll have to face facts and realize a few deaths will prevent hundreds upon thousands of others." Double D gave no response. He understood, but he didn't want to understand.

"He-a didn't act o' his-a own will." Mario told the group, drawing their attention. Mario was standing over the unconscious koopa, holding his arm. "I think he was hyponotized by Count Bleck, or atleast... someone close to Bleck. This koopa worked for Bowser."

"How do you know, smart guy!" Eddy asked in a sarcastic tone.

Ignoring the pint sized ed, he continued. "His-a eyes were o' purple. A koopa's eyes are-a usually-a green. Plus-" Mario held out the koopas forearm for all to behold. "Koopas who-a serve in o' Bowser's army are-a required to get o' certain-a symbol tattooed on-a their forearm." Indeed, a symbol that depicted a characatured face, (which everyone guessed was Bowser's,) was imprinted onto the yellow koopa's arm.

"So he's forcefully recruiting minions," Tippi mused.

"I-a suppose that's-a how the koopas and-a goomba arrived here." Mario speculated. "We'll-a have to o' be extra careful." Mario warned them.

"Hey guys!" Ed called to the group. He still had a section of the tree trunk firmly stuck around his head and neck. "Could someone help me remove my tree so we can restore the damage ecosystem."

"I'll get him!" Eddy volunteered with a smirk. He took a knife from it's bag. The knife hit the log, and split the log in two.

"Thanks for your unnessacerily dangerous help Eddy!" Ed replied with a dumb smile.

"Yah, what a hero..." Tippi muttered.

Eddy removed his knife from a large splinter of the wood, and Double D went to pull the arrow out of the koopa's reptilian skin. With a few forceful jerks, and several moans of pain from the recipient of the attack, Double D finally dislodged the arrow. His face grimaced at the sight of the blood on the end. "Oh... I hope he didn't have Hepatitus..." Double D groaned. "Filthy, filthy, filthy..." he muttered as he wiped the blood off with his shirt and returned the arrow to his sheath.

"Hey! Doctor Phobia! Can we get going?" Eddy called to Double D. "I wanna find this Bestovious guy before it gets late!"

Indeed, the sun was starting to get rather low. Not low as to the point where you could see bright and vibrant colors in the sky, but low enough you could tell only three or so hours of daylight remained, max.

...

"I still can't believe that jerk sent us out into this new place at four! The sun is setting for crying out loud!" Eddy complained. That was about all the small child had done for the past two hours. His feet hurt, his mouth was dry, the sun hurt his eyes, it was getting dark, his eyes were sleepy... The rest had had enough of whining from the most annoying member of the group.

"I'd say Skipper McGee needs a nap!" Ed joked, poking fun at Eddy's middle name, 'Skipper.'

"I agree wholeheartedly, Ed." Double D told Ed. "Pardon my french, I believe all Eddy has done is- _'bitch and moan'_- this entire stroll."

"Oh yeah? Well I'd be in a better mood if we weren't set out so late." Eddy groaned.

"We had no choice. Merlon had no idea at which the speed of some of the other worlds would deteriorate." Tippi explained, for like the fiftieth time. The only thing that had managed to silence Eddy was the repetitive item blocks along the trail. Every now and again, they'd run into another floating, yellow item block with a question mark on one of its faces. When it was hit, either a gold coin or an attack item appeared out nowhere at the top of the block. Once hit, the block became brown. These small trinkets managed to take up Eddy's attention for around five to ten minutes.

Double D had long since given up trying to come to a logical conclusion that could explain the nature of an 'item block.'

"How far have we hiked, Tinkerbell?" Eddy asked Tippi. Tippi cast Eddy an angry stare.

Eddy had come to call Tippi, 'Tinkerbell', largely because of Ed. Ed stupidly called the pixl, Tinkerbell, thinking she was Peter Pan's companion. After which she furiously explained a pixl was a small floating creature with magic powers, similar to a fairy, but not so at all. Either way, Eddy liked the name and stuck the small glittering pixl with that unfortunate name.

"About nine miles," the small butterfly creature replied. She flew ahead to Mario, trying her best to avoid Eddy's snide remarks and Ed's stupidity.

"Nine miles! This trip is takin' way... too long!" Eddy yelled.

"Oh, just can it Eddy." Double D told him.

"Maybe that guy knows the way to the Shiny Harp!" Ed yelled idiotically.

"What guy?" Mario asked, hoping Ed had actually found someone.

"Thar she blows!" Ed howled, pointing to a log cabin in the distance. "Look at the size of that whale!"

"It actually appears to be a relatively small cabin," Double D corrected.

"Maybe with Bestovious in it!" Tippi said hopefully.

"Can't hurt-a to look," Mario said. The quintet dashed off to the log cabin in the distance, thoughts filled with hopes of meeting this strange wizard! They reached the log cabin, and Double D politely knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again. Still no answer.

"It appears there is nobody home," Double D told them.

"Lothar demands entrance!" Ed yelled maniacally. He charged crazily toward the door with his axe and bashed down the entry way. "Lothar has found the way!"

"Ed!" Double D shouted with fury. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!"

"Absolutely nothing, Double D," Ed replied.

"Talk about cheapskates." Eddy said as he walked into the house. "Not a thing in site to steal." It was true. There was no furniture, accessories, jewels, electronics, or even dust or mold. There we no signs to suggest anything had ever entered this house. It was as though this room had never been touched by a living soul.

"What a poor choice in decore," Ed said, actually managing to sound somewhat intelligent.

"How-a strange." Mario said.

Tippi remained still. "This room isn't empty." She said. The humans turned to her. "I can sense a hidden passage way." She turned to the left wall. "Right there! A door is right there!" She signalled to her friends- or... three friends, and that small guy who just gets on her nerves.

"Has the bug gone cocoa?" asked Ed.

"I-a think o' not!" Mario told the others. He reached out and his hand seemed to grab a handle. He shook the invisible door as proof it was there. "Tippi hasn't-a gone marbles." Mario told them. The others put their hands to the wall. They too felt some sort door. It reminded the group of the door from Flipside, though the two entrances were little alike.

Double D was baffled by the whole ordeal. "I don't even want to try to evaluate the logical plausibility of this situation." Double D surrendered. With that, Mario clenched on the door handle, and opened the way into the next room.


	6. Switching Perspectives

_I'm sorry if you guys thought I'd show you guys Bestovious after the last chapter. I originally intended for him to be in that chapter, but it spanned far too long and I decided I should just cut it where it was. I know, they're no chapter limitations on here, but I felt like where I stopped was a good cut off area. Sorry about the cliffhanger there. Hope this chapter makes up for it thought. Here, we'll finally meet Bestovious and discover what that mysterious power is. And don't worry, the cul-de-sac kids will play a part in this. Just not yet... On a last note, I've made slight updates to other chapters. Most notably, chapter 2, going into more detail of the Eds crying and the description of Flipside near the end. Also chapter 4, with the Eds getting ready to head into another world. Please note: I'm not perfect. I'm learning from my past mistakes and correcting them. I will sometimes rewrite or add to chapters which need them. I don't mean reread every chapter every update. But I will tell you guys the ones I have fixed so you can get a better feel for the story._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Six: Shifting Perspectives

**"Why did you save me?"**

**"Because you needed help, of course."**

**"That's not what I meant."**

**"Then what did you mean."**

**"I am of the Tribe of Darkness. We despise humans and the Tribe of Ancients."**

**"I find it rather silly how your people hold grudges."**

**"But why? Why save someone who has discontempt for you."**

**"Because it was the right thing to do."**

**"What...?"**

**"I saved you because you were hurt. Not because we knew each other. It would've sickened me if no one came to your aid. Prejudice or not, you needed help."**

**"I don't understand."**

**"Come, I'll help you understand..."**

* * *

><p>Bestovious was a oddity of a man. He looked to be of the same race as Merlon, yet he was different from the cloaked sorcerer in many ways. His face was purple and his eyes were pure white and wide as saucer plates. He wore a long, blue cap, reminescent of the stereotypical wizard's hat, and a crazy high collared pink and orange robe. And he was floating on a cloud, despite probably weighing more than the four heroes combined.<p>

The room the five had entered was just as bizarre. All five could tell Bestovious, like Ed, was one of those people who spent no time trying to be neat. It looked as though a factory had exploded, through meshes of clown wear across the wreckage, tossed in some furniture and a bed, and then you got the equivalent of this strange and nutty man's room. "Messy, messy, messy..." Double D murmured.

"Who- wha- Who are you people? How did you find my secret entrance?" Bestovious howled.

Tippi spoke. "We're here to see you Bestovious. You see, we-"

"Quiet firefly!" Bestovious shouted; signs of age and senility in his voice. "Wait a minute. I think I get it. This is starting to make sense, now..." He scanned the Eds, Mario, and Tippi, eyes darting between each member of the party, oblivious as to how confused they were. "Let's see here, you!" He pointed at Tippi. "You're Merlon's firefly aren't yah?"

Tippi sighed. "Yah... that's me." She replied.

"The old man can't even remember you're a pixl, huh Tinkerbell?" Eddy whispered to Tippi. Tippi responded by slammed herself into Eddy's face. It did little pain, but surprised the child, who'd never seen Tippi act violently.

"So uh... then... who're you guys?" Bestovious asked, pointing to the Eds and Mario. Double D opened his mouth to reply, when Bestovious shouted, "NO, NO! WAIT! I can figure this out. Um... let's see. An Italian with red cap, overalls, and a mustache... A nerdy kid with sock on his head... A short kid with three hairs, a yellow shirt, and a chained pocket watch in his jeans... And some freak with a coat who needs a shower."

"I'd say he nailed you guys," Eddy whispered to Ed and Double D.

"I see he failed to mention your personality flaws," Double D remarked with a smirk.

"I see a man floating on a cloud," Ed responded, continuing the conversation.

"I SAID QUIET!" Bestovious yelled at them. "I've got it! You're the great hero-" Everyone paused, preparing to except their glory. "Impersonators!" Mario collapsed in frustration. Eddy slapped his forehead. Double D mumbled something about senility being a curse upon the elderly. Ed said that Bestovious need a reality check. "Why, for a second there, I could've sworn you guys were the real heroes or something! HA! Believable costumes guys!" The old fool laughed.

"No sir, you see, these are the real heroes from the Light Prognosticus." Tippi explained. "They've come to learn an ancient technique or something from you."

"Baah!" scoffed Bestovious. "You are not the heroes. Three of you are barefaced, and the Italian's mustache doesn't compare to my flowing beard of white magnificent hair upon my lip." He pointed toward his puffy mustache.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Eddy asked.

"I wouldn't expect a hairless face freak to understand," Bestovious gloated. "Why, forget you face. You've got no more than three hairs a top you scalp!"

Eddy's face went bright red and his hands curled up into balls. "W-why... I oughta..." Mario grabbed the pipsqueak before he could cause any damage to the old magician.

"Listen-a sir, I under-o-stand if-a you don't-a believe we're the heroes, but-a is-a there a way you could-a possibly teach us the power in spite-a whether we're-a o' heroes or not." Mario reasoned with the floating man.

"Well..." He pondered. "Sorry! Nope! I ain't supposed to gib' my powers over to anyone but the legendary heroes."

Eddy groaned and face palmed. "This is getting us nowhere..." He muttered. "If you need me, I'll be helping myself to my candy stash." Eddy hopped over to a corner, sat himself on a discarded piece of furniture, and starting pigging on the crazy looking candy he'd bought at Flipside.

"Perhaps we could dabble in the art of a wonder wheel!" Ed suggested.

"Ed, what is that supposed to mea-" Double D began, but was cut off by Bestovious.

"I am wise in the ways of a wonder wheel!" Bestovious gloated. "No one can out turn me in the eyes of a wandering peasant, however!"

"Give it your best wiggle, Mr. Cloud Man from Icarus!" Ed responded. Everyone gave Ed and Bestovious a surprised look. Obviously shocked that Ed was in the midst of making some sort bargain, with the old man. For once, Bestovious' senility might just play off the heroes favor.

"Even so, if I were to give you my powers, it'd be no less than a third of cup of blood!" Bestovious explained, confusingly.

"Not so! The penny hamsters would charge less of less in the eyes of the third troll," Ed responded.

"I do not believe so! Yonder blue skies tells signs of no!"

"Only on the Thursdays of the calmest Autumn!"

"Damn it, I forgot to remember to cast that factor!" Bestovious sighed. "Fine! I'll teach yah my power for 10,000 coins!"

"Only in Princess Land!" Ed told the colorful wizard.

"Not even! Without a picture frame, the mirror remains in a sleeping state!"

"But in chalk world, Coca-Cola tries its hardest to make due with its taxes!"

"Argh..." Bestovious groaned, angered by Ed's non-sensible argument. "Fine! For all the coins ye' have in your pocket!"

"Super Mario Sunshine TWO!" Ed yelled.

"Fine! I'll teach it to you for free! I'll admit, you're wise in the ways of the wonder wheel, Mr... Ed is it?"

"It says so in my underwear." Ed confirmed. At this point, the rest of the group had lost grip on what the arguement was even about. From what everyone else could tell, the Bestovious man had finally seemed to lessen his grip and allowed them to learn the special technique, thanks to Ed's somewhat strange reasoning and logic that only the most insane of lunatics could understand.

"Do you guys have any idea what just happened?" Tippi asked the rest of the group.

"Not-a sure..." Mario replied.

"I think we won a plea bargain... I- uh..." Double D tried to reason. "I'm not even sure..."

"Who cares what happened!" Eddy told them. "We finally got the old geezer to crack, thanks to good ol' Lumpy," Eddy said, patting Ed on the head like a dog.

"Yep." Ed replied. "That's me all right."

"Quiet!" the man on the cloud commanded. "I must now pass on to you four hero imposters, my sacred art! It involves an extremely painful experience which you're all bound to love!" Everyone but Bestovious' face fell in gloom. "Now that we've got that out of the way, do we have any volunteers?" asked Bestovious. While Eddy, Double D, and Mario appeared to shrink in their spots, Ed ran laughing up to Bestovious.

"Ed is the man! I am the chosen one!" Ed yelled as he ran up to the colorful floating being. He stopped just beside Bestovious' cloud and said, "I would like to take the form of a lightbulb." Ed requested.

"Yes, lightbulb indeed," Bestovious muttered. He held up his right index and right middle finger. The two fingers began to glow a fiery looking purple color. The energy let off green sparks and sounded as though firecrackers were going off inside a church. "Now, hold still. This'll only hurt for five minutes... half an hour max..." He pulled his right arm back and jammed his two fingers into Ed's eyes.

For some reason, the mentally deficient child stood their laughing as what looked like painful flames began eruptinng in his eyes. When the flames ended, Ed faced the rest of his scared witless group. Ed's pupils were now purple, casting off an eerie hue to the shocked group members. "It feels as though a million fire ants are biting my eyes!" Ed proclaimed proudly to his fellow teammates.

"Yes... that sensation should vanish in an un-predetermined amount of time." Bestovious told Ed, not glancing at Double D, Mario, or Eddy, who all looked sickened, horrifying and distressed. "So then," he began. "Who's next?"

Double D fainted. Luckily, he fell into a stack of pillows which had been placed in the corner of Bestovious' room for one reason or another.

"I say Mario goes first," Eddy said sheepishly, pushing Mario forward.

"N-now don't-a be-a so si-silly Eddy. Why... a brave-a strong m-man like o' you shou-should-a be able to-a do this no sweat." Mario replied wearily, pushing Eddy forward.

"No, no! I insist!" Eddy proclaimed, shoving Mario forward.

"And I say-a that you should-a have first rights!" Mario told Eddy, heaving him towards the wizard on the cloud.

"And I say you!"

"I'm not-a getting near-a that mad man!"

"You go first!"

"No! You-a go first!"

"Make me!" What had started out as a sheepish arguement had slowly turned into an all out brawl. Mario and Eddy began punching each other, trying to shove one another to the insane magician. Mario was obviously stronger and fit than Eddy, but that didn't stop the boy from running like mad away from Bestovious.

While Eddy and Mario were brawling the jumbled mess of a room, Ed was helping himself to Eddy's bag of candy which had been filled with all sorts of strange candies like circular shaped chocolate bars, gummies shaped like strange unfamiliar animals, what appeared to be blue and yellow Twizzlers, lollypops which were molded with gelatin like mixes, and puffy marshmallow looking sweets which were dyed and colored to look like attack items. "Great choice in product, Eddy!" Ed shouted at the small boy who currently had just punched the Italian in the jaw.

Tippi watched the whole scene occur from the sidelines. The pixl sighed with despair. "We are going to be here a while," she groaned.

...

And here a while, they were. What could've been a half an hour affair molded into two and a half hours, thanks to the fact Tippi had to split up Mario and Eddy's brawl, force each of them to get the painful injections into their eyes, coax Double D awake... twice..., convince him after long medical related talks to get him the receive his powers, then wait for each of the heroes pains to recede.

All the humans in the room now had purple pupils, which indicated whatever Bestovious had done to them, had affected something in their eyes. "Now that you've all been given the power, I will explain to you how it works," Bestovious began. "This power had strengthened your sight and allows you to see hidden or invisible objects. Much like the pixl over there, you'll be able to spot things the average person cannot normally perceive. Simply blink to activate and deactivate your power."

"Could it've been done in a less painful way?" Eddy asked.

"Now that you mention it..." Bestovious pondered. "Yes... In fact, option two was to simply transfer the magic into you with a vapor type sort of spell." Bestovious told Eddy.

"And why wasn't this available to us?" Eddy asked, annoyance glowing in his voice.

"I'm not exactly sure... could you tell me, please?" The wizard asked innocently. Eddy was about to run towards the man to beat him to pieces, but Ed grabbed the munching and hauled him onto his shoulders.

"There, there little Eddy." Ed said in a motherly voice. "Sometimes even little midgets must feel pain." This only upset Eddy even more. He gritted his teeth, his skin streamed with sweat, and his face turned red as blood. He smacked the larger Ed in the face and proceeded violently beat him. "Ooh! Ouch! Oh...! Oh you missed a spot Eddy! Yowch! Nope... you got that part too..."

"Well, I believe we should leave while we're still all in one piece," Double D suggested.

"Woah... the sun went-a down quick!" Mario told the rest, as he stared out the one way window, invisible from the outside. Perhaps designed by Bestovious to keep an eye on passerby's and intruders. Curious as ever, Double D walked over to examine the night sky and horizon that spread around it.

"Odd..." Double D pondered. "It appears to be in a summer like state here." Double D noted, judging by the warmth of the sun and bountiful greenery he'd seen earlier.

"It ain't no summer!" Bestovious stated. "It's warm year round here!"

"Perhaps then this world does not revolve around the sun at an axis, rather at a straight fixture." Double D guessed theologically. "And mayhap, this world revolves at an uneven pace, making night much longer than its daytime counterpart."

"Haven't you been listening?" Eddy said, jumping off Ed who lay in a crater in the floor created by their scuffle. "We're in a new dimension. This place might not even be a planet for all we know." Double D took this into consideration.

"That is very true... then maybe-" Double D was cut off by Tippi.

"Can we form hypothesis' about the dimensions we visit after we save them?" Tippi shouted.

"Quite right," Double D agreed. "But still, it is very dark out. Trying to navigate and avoid enemies would be considerably more difficult at night." He turned to Bestovious and made a friendly gesture. "Mr. Bestovious. As it is very late, may I suggest we take slumber in your unoccupied room, just for the night perhaps?"

...

"AND IF YOU HOOLIGANS COME ON TO MY PROPERTY AGAIN, I'LL A SPELL THAT'LL ZIP, ZAP YAH STRAIGHT INTO THE AFTERLIFE! DO YAH'LL KIDS HERE ME! WHY THE NERVE OF YOU FOUL ROTTEN-" The party listened to this aggravating rant from Bestovious for ages as they walked away from the small little house in the middle of the field. Only after it had dipped over the horizon and disappeared did the noise of the cranky, old floating wizard seize.

"_'May I suggest we take slumber in your unoccupied room,'_" Eddy mimicked. "That got us real far, didn't it sockhead?" Eddy's attitude had become progressively worse his feet grew tired and his bag became aggravatingly heavy for him. He no longer even carried the energy to strike the occasional item block that sat among the path, to collect the gold coins he so desperately yearned for.

"You've-a got it easy," Mario told Eddy, who appeared to be unfazed from the long strolls and constant enemies they faced. "Back in-a the o' Mushroom Kingdom, I had-a to trudge miles and-a miles to o' save-a the Princess. This is-a absolutely nothing."

"Well good for you..." Eddy groaned. "If you want to spend your life as a knight or whatever, that's cool with me. But I on the other hand plan to run a candy shop where prices are high and the candy is-"

**BANG!**

Eddy snapped around to see a koopa who'd been inches from striking Eddy's head laying on the ground a top the shattered remains of its shell. For Eddy, it was very fortunate the Ed happened to be right behind him at the time, ready to strike any enemies with his axe. "Good lord!" Double D shrieked. "Is that poor soul dead!" He shouted with worry.

"Uh... this poor soul here just tried to kill me," Eddy pointed out. "Why yah givin' him sympathy?" Eddy glanced down at the unconscious koopa. His chest rose faintly. "Yah... the turtle guy's fine."

"I hit him with the flat part of my axe, Double D," Ed explained.

"Yes well..." Double D murmured. "Shall we continue?"

The group continued to forge on, into the dense landscape. Along the way, they ran into three more koopas, two goombas, and even two of those box shaped animals. Ed whacked two of the koopas with the broad side of his axe, while Eddy knifed one of the koopas in the chest, killing it (much to Double D's disgust.) Mario flattened the two goombas with his signature ground pound. Upon approaching the tiny purple and pink creatures, it was found they shot coconuts out of their mouths as a defense mechanism. Double D described it as intriguing. Eddy said it was stupid. Ed said they should collect the coconuts and dance the hula 'till the sun came up.

Double D shot the two specimens with arrows, killing them instantly. Though they were but mere animals, even these deaths managed to make Double D cringe. Mario took notice. "What's-a wrong, Double D?" Mario asked.

"Oh... this adventure is so stressful." Double D replied. "First I'm forced into a situation where my constant companions and I must save not only humanity, but all other complex life forms in existence. And now I'm being forced into scenarios where I may in fact have to kill... I don't know, Mario. I just... I want my family back, but... not like this... do you know what I mean."

Mario sighed. "I won't-a be easy for-a you," Mario explained. "Killin' is-a hard thing-a to do for some o' people. I can't-a make it any-a easier for you. But I-a promise, you'll a only half to-a do it, if you-a have to."

"I understand," Double D complied grimly.

"Jeez, ain't there any towns here?" Eddy asked sarcastically. "How's a guy supposed to get sleep around here?"

"Merlon told me that there'd be an old town a top a large mountain that spreads far and wide across the horizon." Tippi responded and she flew on top of Mario's hat. The constant flying had begun to take her toll on her. The pixl now only flew a distance or so, before resting on Mario's shoulder. She no longer contained the energy to go long distances.

Even Ed began to look tired. "Can I have a snack," Ed asked Eddy.

"Get your own candy shoe for brains!" Eddy replied harshly.

"Can I have a snack Double D?" Ed asked.

"I'm afraid all I have are emergency rations and uncooked meat from those strange box shaped florae-" Ed snacked Double D bag and grabbed the pink and purple carcasses.

"This'll do, buck-a-roo!" Ed replied, giving Double D his backpack back. He shoved the first animal into his mouth, chewing with disgusting slurp and crunching noises as he ate.

"Goodness, Ed! Don't you know what kinds of germs those undiscovered organisms may carry?" Double D shouted, repulsed. He covered his eyes as Ed began to bite into the second body.

"Not a clue Double D!" Ed replied through a mouthful.

"Ed! Don't talk with your mouth full!" Double D ordered.

Eddy rubbed his temples in aggravation, trying to tune out his two best friends argument. He set his sack down, and sat on top of it. "Can't we take a break?" Eddy asked.

"No! I-a think I can o' see-a the mountain! Just in-a the distance!" Mario shouted while pointing forward at the horizon. Indeed, a small rise appeared before. It was difficult to judge from afar, but there appeared to be no vegetation, extremely sandy, steep, prone to rockslides, and in other words; one hell of a climb.

"Ugh!" Eddy shouted. "That's gotta be like, seven miles away! Plus, like, two miles UPWARD!"

"It appears to be more of a mesa than a mountain." Double D inquired. "A mountain is one piece of land which slopes upward, but this appears to be an entire area which has risen up several miles-"

"Double D," Eddy interjected. "No one cares."

"Well, either way, I say we should make it to the top before midnight," Tippi told the others.

Eddy groaned. Double D pouted his chest out bravely. "I for one am not afraid of the upcoming climb," Double D proclaimed boldly, very out of character. "That incline looks far less treacherous than the climbing wall at the Flipside gym! I am ready for action!"

"That's-a the spirit!" Mario replied. "Come on! Let's-a go!" Mario became to move again, and Double D and Tippi followed in pursuit.

"Well, I'm not gonna waste my energy." Ed stated blatantly. "Lumpy," He said to Ed. "Be a camel and give me a lift."

Ed hoisted the smaller Ed onto his back, and began to walk on all fours. "That I can, Eddy!" He started to sway in a way like a real camel would walk. Ed then said, "Walk forward, time skip, dot, dot, dot, next scene!"

...

"Courage Eddward, courage!" Double D said to himself, his arms up by ribs as he power walked in an uneven motion. Up ahead of the travelers, lay the large upward hike. The first thing the party noticed was how loose the ground below them was beneath their feet. The slope was not only steep, but uneven, shifting, and coated with layers of sand. "I knew this journey would be a challenge but..." Double D murmured to himself. "But... this is tiring..."

"This-a ground feels, sort-a o' weird," Mario said, testing the earth with his feet. "It-a feels o' like... it's-a been consistently o' trodden on for-a long period o' time." He tripped as his left burrowed into a loose sand pit. Mario picked himself up. Scaling this land in the dark of night would probably double their troubles.

"This might be a cause of erosion." Double D told Mario. "I hypothesis a desert lays on the other side of this ledge, and that desert rarely receives rain. There for, due to this valley receiving so much down pour, any soil good for growing crops would have washed its way down to more fertile, flatter area."

"I-a guess so," Mario replied, not paying much attention to the sockheaded ed. He had begun to notice the elongated pits of sand ran in a pattern a top the terrain, as though carved in a set formation by something. "I don't-a like-a this o' place." Mario decided.

"I agree." Tippi piped up. "We should probably move faster, if we're to reach that town and receive any sleep at all."

"Right you are Tippi!" Double D beamed. "Say," He turned back and scanned the area they'd trotted past. "Where's Ed and Eddy?"

"Right here Double D!" Ed called, still walking like a camel. On his back was Eddy, cradling his backpack like it was a child's stuffed animal. The two were a bit farther to the right of Mario and Tippi. "He fell asleep in the car, the little dickens." Ed told Double D. "Ooh! Ooh! Watch this, guys!" Ed began to blink his eyes, showing flashes of bright, resilient purple, and then back to his normal black pupil color. "Lights on, lights off! Lights on, lights off! Lights on, lights off! I'm a siren!"

"Yes, well-" Double D muttered, somewhat disturbed. "That's nice, Ed." Double D chose to keep his sight power off, for the strange sensation the power put in his eyes made the boy somewhat squeamish. Also, the prospect of having the color neon purple in his pupils was all too frightening for him.

"Rocks there, rocks gone! Rocks there, rocks gone!" became Ed's new chant. No some seemed to have a clue what Ed meant by this. He was probably talking about the occasional stones that caused the groups feet to go sore in this harsh upward walk.

Something caught Mario's eye! He turned, and saw sand moving downhill in a swirling motion. Or did he? _'Is-a it o' trick-a dah light?' _Mario wondered to himself. Another sight, a pit of sand emptied, and refilled. He stared in shock. He squinted his eyes and stared at his surroundings. These events were happening all across the rise. Then he remembered Ed's chanting. Something clicked. He blinked, and let his newfound power rush into his eyes. _'HOLY SHIT!'_ Mario thought in exasperation.

This whole place was a death trap, and they were standing in the middle of it. Conspicuous. Unaware. And Double D was about to be killed! "Double D!" Mario cried. He performed on of his legendary hops and tackled the startled Ed onto the ground. A second later and...

Double D sighed in pain. When he looked up, he yelled at Mario. "What's the matter with you? Have you lost your mind?" Double D yelled.

"No, he hasn't," Tippi replied. "I can sense them all around us..." she whispered eerily.

"What?" Double D asked, being completely unaware of their situation.

"Use-a your powers!" Mario instructed. Double D did as commanded. He was absolutely shocked by what he saw. All around, giant rock-made creatures with cylindrical bodies and spiny sides were barreling down the hill. Small ones, large ones, ones with spines big enough to rip one in half. Oddest of all, they had never blinking angry faces that turned in circles as they fell down the terrain.

"Oh my lord!" Double D shouted. "Ed, use your legs, grab Eddy, and run like a horsy!" Double D commanded.

"Run where?" Ed asked, clueless.

"We've got to go now!" Tippi shouted. No one hesitated. Mario began barreling up the slope, flipping over the beasts, obstacles, and just about anything else in his way. Tippi flew as high as she could against the prevailing winds, trying to stay level above the tallest of the menacing blocks. Ed grabbed Eddy, shoved his axe in his coat, and began to forcefully push the oncoming foes out of his way as he triumphed up the mountain.

Double D was not as nimble as his friends. He was practically running in circles to avoid the oncoming descent of the cylindrical death stones. Cornered with the fact he constantly had to dodge the rock foes Ed pushed his way, he began to trail severely behind the others. Only his newly aquired powers and mountain climbing skills from the Flipside Gym were saving him from his grave.

"Assistance please!" Double D called to his friends. "Help! HELP!"

The frontrunners of the group turned around and saw their skinniest comrade, barely able to move up the mountain. At this rate, he'd he flattened. _'Think-a fast!' _Mario told himself. An idea formed. He reached into Eddy's sack which cradled in the sleeping Ed's arms, and removed a small rock figurine with an angry face on it. Mario hoped his knowledge of attack items would be their saving grace. "Catch-a this!" Mario yelled to Double D, throwing the pint sized item at his friend.

Double D barely managed to grasp the trinket as he bolted out of the way of another cylindrical rock. "What's this?" Double D muttered.

"Throw it on the ground!" Mario shouted at the top of his lungs. Not even thinking, Double D complied. A thunderous roar shook the landscape. The earth roared and shook, but for about a fifty feet around Double D. All of the rolling foes in the vicinity crumbled into bits, but not without a price. Some of the rubble hit Double D, who couldn't even stand due to the effects of the Earthquake item. The item had only bought them time.

"Ed!" Tippi shouted. "Fetch!"

"Ready or Eddy I can!" Ed replied. He tossed Eddy onto Mario's head and ran downhill to his genius friend. He grabbed the poor chap by his neck, with his teeth, and ran back up the hill like a race horse. This probably wouldn't help the beanie-wearing kid recover any quicker.

Mario pulled Eddy onto his shoulders, slung Eddy's bag on his arm, and began barreling back up the path. Though his stamina was decreased with the extra weight, the Italian still had quite some fire in him and managed to drag two bags and his comrade to the top of the mountain. Ed, Tippi, and Double D awaited their arrival.

When they were sure they'd escaped, they sat down, and rested. For a time, they did not speak. But Double D broke the silence with a question. "What were those things?" he asked, huffing and puffing.

"Thwomps," Mario replied. "Circular thwomps. I've o' never seen-a them acting like-a that before though. Usually they're o' only-a in castles, and they're-a usually square. Plus, I've-a never known them to-a possess invisibility."

"Looks Count Bleck is giving his minions powers," Tippi gestured.

"Perhaps," Mario told them. He glanced at Eddy. "The small-a one okay?" He asked, pointing to Eddy.

"Who, Eddy?" Double D asked. "He's fine. He can sleep through just about anything. Wake him, and you better believe he'll be pissed."

"Really...?" Tippi replied sarcastically. "Well, I'll do my best to keep him comfy." The butterfly flew above the Ed and began to rub her wings. Rainbow colored dust began to cloak the boy's nose. Eddy woke with a, "ACHOO!" He sat up, and looked around aggravated.

"Sheesh! What's your guys problems? Can't you see I was sleeping?" Eddy questioned his friends, angrily.

"You can sleep in town," Mario told the child, point out to the distance. Under the cloudy night sky, a ravine could be seen. A small bridge connected the divide. Across the divide was a town.

* * *

><p><em>Wow... my chapters just keep getting longer and longer don't they?<em>


	7. Wasn't Yesterday Beautiful?

_Well, time to start writing. Now a word from our sponsors... TOOTHPASTE! It keeps you from looking George Washington!... Thank you. Now, a word if I may... "Sand Dollar." Okay, if you haven't guessed already, I have no news. This is kind of awkward. Okay so... I guess we're done here. This chapter will be emotional. Enjoy the plot..._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Seven: Wasn't Yesterday Beautiful?

**"Isn't it beautiful?"**

**"Your folks own this place?"**

**"Yes. I like to be here when I'm sad."**

**"Sad? Why would you ever be sad."**

**"I don't know really... I guess- I just don't know..."**

**"It's a lovely waterfall."**

**"I guess so, but, I that's all there is to it."**

**"What do you mean girl?"**

**"I don't want nice things. I want a place to be happy."**

**"Where is that?"**

**"I'm not sure, but one day, I know will find it."**

**"... You're an odd human."**

**"You're not exactly normal yourself."**

* * *

><p>The old town, or "Yold Town," as it was called, was a small dusty village on the edge of a desert. It was stuck inbetween ravines, only accessable by two bridges that faced towards the east and towards the west. The legendary heroes walked on toward the first bridge. A small peasant guard, who struck everyone oddly as looking like Mario, guarded the gate. Red, as he was called, lived in a small red house next to a draw bridged operated by a system of levers and pulleys. As he took a liking to Mario's looks, he flipped a pully and rolled out the bridge, no charge or questions asked.<p>

"By the way," he asked Mario. "What's the most manly color in the universe? Answer right and I'll give you all fifty coins each."

Just as everyone was about to respond red, Ed blurted out, "The answer is PURPLE!"

...

Ed was spiraling over the ravine with a footprint in his butt, laughing all the way to the other side. As he smashed down onto the hard, rocky earth, he responded, "Fly pussycat, fly!" He got up, his face in the shape of a frying pan. "Just like Christmas with Sarah at my Aunt Edna's."

"Unless the rest of you guys would like to share your friends fate, I suggest you all cross the bridge and never speak me again..." Red said, storming with blistering anger. Everyone lowered their heads and walked across the rickety old bridge.

"Well, he was an interesting character." Double D muttered.

"He-a booted Ed just-a for saying that purple was o' manly color." Mario noted.

"He's got more fire than Eddy," Tippi compared.

"Shut it Tinkerbell!" Eddy shouted. The pixl huffed and flew over to Mario.

The four crossed the bridge, eager to be across the ravine and away from Red the gatekeeper. From what they could see, Red began reversing the order of levies he pulled and drew the bridge back up. "You know, that may be the most technologically advanced thing I've seen on our venture so far," Double D commented.

"That's not true," Tippi rebuttled. "Flipside had light fixtures!"

"Come on guys, follow me!" Ed yelled. They turned to see their dimwitted friend riding on a blue spring with eyes, all the way to the town. "I have made piece with the machine gear people. I shall call my partner, Sproingy!" He began bouncing into the dusty village.

"Ironically, those creature are called Sproings," Tippi pointed out. "I came across them once while reading through a book of creatures in Merlon's study."

"No amount of magic, religion, science, or hooblah could possibly make sense of why that dismal little being is alive." Double D muttered. Sighing, he began to stroll along Ed's trail.

Yold Town was much like Flipside, apart from being set in a desert with a tangible ground. The people were extremely similar to the blocky inhabitants of Flipside, but they however appeared to be of a more rounded sort, being made more of circles and octogons. The culture also seemed to resemble that of a desert, western society. The streets had vendors who sold the same meat of the blocky creatures Double D had shot (which turned out ot be called Squigs and Squiglets) and dealed off other encentricies like attack items, fire wood, and charms.

The buildings in Yold Town were large adobe style huts. Most of the buildings appeared to be small family owned properties, with the exceptions of the inn, item shop, and the mayor's estate. You couldn't really call it an estate. More like a larger hut with extra space for political meetings. The group decided today would be the drawing point for them. They'd go rest, and tomorrow ask the Mayor for permission to lower the second draw bridge.

The inn was probably the largest building in town, but not by much. It only had four rooms, a bar, and a receptionary entrance. It only just surpassed the item shop's size. "Oh, visitors!" said the yellow, round woman at the desk. Her hair was strung up in square braids and she was coated with dust and sand from head to toe. Probably a staple of living in Yold Town. "We don't get much visitors around here. Especially at midnight!" she giggled.

"Well, how often do you guys get business?" Double D asked politely.

"I'd say we average three or four customers a year." she said without flinching. "However, we did recieve a new patron about a day or two ago. And you guys would bring the total up to six, I suppose."

"But then how-a do you pay o' yer bills and-a such?" Mario asked, confused.

"Oh, around here everyone supports each other, with food, water, medicine, and all those other things. To be honest, not much need for money here. What little money we have usually just sits in safes," she explained. "This is a kind of old fashioned family town."

"What a charming little place," Double D told the woman. "Not much family economics in the society we hail fro-"

"Can we get some rooms already?" Eddy yelled crankily. "I'm dead tired and I want SOME sleep before Mr. Italian here wakes us up at six a.m.!"

"Eddy, that's very rude!" Double D snapped.

"Hehehe! Why sure," the woman giggled. "It'll be ten gold coins per person, plus fifteen coins for each room."

"Does the glow moth count?" Eddy asked.

"I'm a pixl!" Tippi shouted in distaste.

"Yes, I'm afraid so." the woman replied. Eddy muttered angrily and rummaged through his money, calling Double D over to help him figure out the price.

"You wouldn't need my help if you actually paid attention when the teacher went over fourth grade math Eddy," Double D replied sarcastically.

"Would you all care for a drink?" The woman asked. They politely nodded. "Honey, would you bring our guests something to drink! They've been wandering around up that mountain of death!" she called to an unknown server behind the bar.

"We are the parchiest!" Ed exclaimed, still bouncing on Sproingy.

The eds heard a scuffle and a door open. A small figure stepped out from behind the bar, a plate lined with drinks. "Okay dudes, I got some fresh smoothie stuff from the back so I hope you like strawberries and-" She looked up, froze, and the plate and glasses collided to the floor with a crash. The heroes turned round. Mario and Tippi were unsure what was transpiring, but the Eds knew exactly who the girl in the bartenders uniform was.

"Nazz." Double D muttered.

"NAZZ!" Eddy yelled, confused.

"Rolf!" Ed yelled for no reason.

"GUYS!" Nazz yelled in delight. She ran forward and sprang her arms around the trio. Eddy and Double D blushed. Ed laughed and said something relating to his hygene, making Nazz cringe and release them. "H- how did you guys find me?" She asked in a happy voice.

"Well, you know," Eddy said, leaning against the wall as he tried to be cool. "It's never any trouble scouting out my woman in the endless fie-"

"We came upon you by chance actually." Double D explained, interrupting Eddy's cool guy act. "We've been traveling across the Linelands with Mario and Tippi here." He pointed towards the red palate Italian and the rainbow butterfly. "How did you get here?" he asked.

"Well... after that swirling thing devoured the cul-de-sac, I passed out, I think..." she paused. Somewhat unsure of what happened next. "The next thing I knew, I was awake and in a bed. I thought I was at home, but then these shape people came out and I'm like all freaking out, but then the nice dudes me calmed me down, and showed me around. Long story short, they gave me a job and I prepared to live the rest of my days in Yold Town."

"Well, we're on a mission!" Eddy told Nazz in a masculent voice. "To save the world."

"Don't you mean, _'all worlds,'_ Eddy!" Ed shouted pointy Sproingy at Eddy, as if he were a cane.

"Shut up Ed!" Eddy yelled.

"Wait a sec'!" Nazz stopped them. "Save all worlds? What does that mean? What's going on!" The questions flew out of her mouth like bullets, but she recieved no answers. Even Eddy couldn't hold his cocky grin. The Eds' faces cast dark shadows of anguish, pain, and unspeakable horrors through their dark perspectives. Nazz didn't like that. Nazz didn't want to know what was coming.

"L-let's get our rooms first." Double D said grimly. "This is a long and sad tale."

...

Once, when Nazz was a little girl, she'd just come home from kindergarten to find out her father whom she loved so much in her whole entire world had passed away. A drunk driver had smashed into his car on the way to work, killing him. For three days, Nazz locked herself in her room, crying herself to sleep, and waking up again in tears. Her mother could do nothing to coax her out. She only came out to sneak food from the pantry.

On the third day, the young Nazz heard knocking at her door. Expecting her mother, she yelled to "GO AWAY!" Instead, she heard a soft, gentle voice reach out. "Well now sweetie pie, why in the world would I do that?" Nazz let her grandmother in the two sat together, exchanging glances.

"Now sweetie pie, you listen," Nazz's grandmother told her. "This is gonna be hard on all of us. I loved my son so much... I haven't felt this bad since your grandfather passed." She paused. "We don't want to lose another member of the family. You shutting yourself out is just the same as that sweet little angel being gone." Nazz felt slightly better, but still felt empty inside.

"Here," Nazz's grandmother said. She reached into her jacket pocket, and pulled out a silver locket with a sapphire heart in the center. "This was my son's; your father's. I was burrowing it from him before he died." Inside the locket, was a small picture of Nazz as a baby with her mother, father, and her grandparents on her father's side. "Promise me you'll never shut yourself out, and you'll always find us beside you. K'?"

Nazz nodded and hugged her grandmother. "Wouldn't be any fun if our Nazzy girl weren't there," she told Nazz. Nazz squeezed tighter into the hug. There was always someone to hug. No. Not this time. There was no one left to take her pain. They were all gone, except the Eds and her friends who'd been flung off to who knows where. She was truly along this time.

"Excuse me." She told the Eds as they finished their account. Tears were welling up in her eyes. Nazz didn't want them to see he weep, she wanted to be alone.

Nazz dashed off to her small bedroom where she'd been given a place to stay. She sobbed for fifteen minutes, but she stopped. Pulling the locket out from inside her shirt, she stared at it, looked at the picture inside, and stopped crying. _'I promise Grandma. I won't shut myself out,' _Nazz told herself. _'I will help the Eds stop this Count Bleck dude. I'll find my friends and save my family. I will be strong. I will not lose anyone else ever again!'_

Wiping her eyes and nose, she stepped off her bed. She practiced her breathing and pulled out the straightest face she could muster. Finally feeling slightly better, she went to the door. Exiting her room, she made her way back to the Eds room.

...

Eddy hated four things more than anything. When his scams go a wry and backfire, when Kevin made him look uncool, when Kevin wowed Nazz (like usual), and when Nazz was in pain. _'Why'd Double D have to blab about everyone being dead?' _Eddy thought to himself. _'Now Nazz is off crying in her room, and she'll probably hate us for telling her!'_

Eddy knew exactly what Nazz was going through and he didn't want her to suffer that. Deep down actually, Eddy was suffering worse. True, he'd been teary eyed when he'd learned of his parents' and relative's deaths, but he felt nothing when he came to the realization that his brother Anthony was dead.

Was something wrong with him? Why didn't he feel any pain for his brother? _'Sure, he wasn't the nicest guy in the world. A bully even...' _Eddy thought. _'But come on! Did I hate him that much to really wish that he was dead!' _The pain was eating away at him. He felt guilty for not being sad, angry that he felt nothing for Anthony, and confused as to why he didn't feel anything for his dead brother.

_'COME ON!' _Eddy yelled to himself, mentally. _'There's gotta be something! Some happy memory that could possible prove there was some kind of bond between us!' _Eddy pondered long and hard like Double D during his Algebra exams. Finally, after five minutes of thinking, he dug up a brotherly connection somewhere in the recesses of his mind.

Eddy was about four or five. Anthony was around the age of fifteen. The two were down by the creek on a lazy summer day. The two brothers were down by the creek, trying to catch tadpoles... wait, was it minnows? Eddy couldn't remember, the memory itself was so hazy. Well, whatever they were catching, Eddy was being to get cranky because the things wouldn't stay still long enough for Eddy to catch them in his tiny net.

Eddy's brother noticed his little brother's frustration and replied with a smirk, "Yah know, I'll bet we could figure a way to make 'em swim into the net."

"W'eally?" the yound Eddy asked, mystified. "'Ow do we do 'dat big b'wo?"

"With some bait," Anthony replied. He scooped up Eddy and the two went down to the local pet store in Peach Creek. Anthony purchased a cannister of fish food. Wait, did he purchase the fish food, or did he smuggle it out in his sleeve. Eddy couldn't remember that either. It was a fifty, fifty chance he paid for it, so Eddy cared less. Whatever the case, they got the fish food and ran back down to the creek.

Anthony got Eddy's net a little bit wet, and sprinkled the fish food onto the lines. He gave it to Eddy and said, "Put it in the water gently." Eddy did as instructed, and it worked. The tadpoles; or minnows if they were minnows, swam straight into his tiny net and began nibbling at the food. Eddy swung his net into the air. Most fell off as he swung up, but two or three were still in the netting.

"Wook b'wo! I caw'd some! I caw'd some!" Eddy said with pride.

His brother smiled. "Consider it life lesson number one."

The two ran home, until Eddy was tired. Then Anthony proceeded to give Eddy a piggyback back to their house. Eddy fell asleep before they got there. Edd wondered; was there any more happy memories? No. The rest of his memories with his brother up 'till age eight when he moved out were pure torture. Even his yearly visits following were unbareable. Any other life lessons he taught Eddy were simply to obey his laws.

Eddy decided he missed the Anthony he knew in his first memory, who was probably buried deep somewhere inside Anthony's soul, wherever his soul had departed to.

Eddy came to a realization, and smiled. That memory... it was his first scam...

...

Ed had failed. Atleast, that's what Ed had thought. He always thought his job as the bigger brother was to protect his baby sister Sarah. Since her birth, Ed had been her protector, whether she liked it or not. In fact, most of his attempts to help her ended up in subsequent beatings from her. Yet still, he took pride in his job, knowing that even though he'd be subjected to pain for helping her, he was being a good sibling by being there for her.

"Ed!" Ed's father called. Ed ran up the stairs, his small but powerful five year old body could still run and throw well beyond what normal boy his age could do. Ed was about five and Sarah was three. Though young, she'd already shown signs of her distaste for Ed. Pouting at Ed, saying short phrases like 'Ed stinky!' and 'Ed stupid!', and pinching him with her grubby hands.

Ed met his parents in the foyer. "Son, we need to talk of your newfound responsibilities."

Ed returned his parents a blank stare. "Do it hurts?" he asked idiotically, sounding even stupider at his young age.

"No Ed." Ed's mom replied. "It's about your sister, Sarah. We need you to take on a brotherly role."

"But I's thaw'd we weres related," Ed replied.

"No Ed, you're both siblings, and you need to take responsibility as the older sibling." his father told him. "You need to start protecting Sarah from any harm and treat her decently no matter what. She's your princess, and you're her knight. Do you understand Ed? I mean really, did you understand any of that?"

Ed smiled. "I can be her Lothar the man protector of the west, slayer of all beasts from the nether regions!" Ed asked.

"Yes Ed." Ed's mom told him. "Be her Lothar."

"'Dat Ed can be!" Ed yelled, and then ran off again laughing. Ever since, he took the position as elder sibling very seriously, even if it meant constant turmoil from Sarah when he was simply trying to help her. Now Ed, knowing he failed to keep Sarah safe, was as sad as ever. Double D's explanation of the past events had only sparked Ed's memory and made him miss Sarah even more.

He decided to dedicate his quest to finding Sarah. Lothar would not be stopped! Ed then thought, which was rare for him. _'I remembering taking the name Lothar. I took it to protect my baby sister! ... I also took it because I got 3D glasses with that comic.' _That was about as much as Ed's mind could focus on for the time being.

...

Just as Eddy and Ed had finished their flashbacks, Nazz walked back into the room. She showed obvious signs that she'd been crying, yet she refused to make it obvious. She held her head high, and spoke. "Listen up dudes!" Nazz proclaimed. "I'm joining your group!" The others fell dumbstruck. That was not what they expected her to say.

"Come now Nazz," Double D began. "You wouldn't be safe on a journey such as this. We're armed, and we have newly aquired powers of sight." Nazz remembered well. She felt inadequate not having the same sight powers her friends had been given. "It's be safer for you to stay here until we-"

"NO!" Nazz bellowed. Everyone was taken off guard. "I've lost too many people already to sit and do nothing!" She protested. "First granddad, then my dad, and then... then- THEN EVERYONE ELSE! I won't lose anyone else ever again! Got that guys?" Nazz was severely in danger of crying now. Her eyes were puffy and she was trembling like a chihuahua.

Double D pondered and then said, "Alright Nazz." Eddy was about to protest for Nazz's safety, but then he saw the look of pain on her face. He remained quiet. "But," Double D said. "You will follow all orders that me, Mario, Ed, Eddy, and Tippi give you. If we tell you to run, you run! If we tell you to hide, you hide! You will obey, understand!" Nazz nodded.

"Thanks Double D!" she hugged the boy with the black beanie hat.

"Just like Juliet with the Romeo," Ed said idiotically.

They heard footsteps, and the room to their door opened. Mario stepped in, Tippi perched upon her shoulder. "What's going on?" Tippi asked. Nazz released Double D and the shrimpy kid faced his allies.

"We've just gained a new teammate." Double D explained.


	8. The Occupied Stall

_I believe you all know what happens next! Or did I add more depth to give it a better story? ... All will be revealed! Also, I've decided I'm done editing my first two or three chapters for a while. Unless someone spots a major flaw, they will stay the way they are. I do agree with the edits I've made, but it's tedious to go back and edit. Besides, nothing is perfect. I did make two final edits to chapter 1 though. Nothing major, I just changed the kids' age from being between 7th and 8th grade, to being between 6th and 7th grade. I felt it'd be make it more plausible for them to be twelve if they were about to start 7th grade, rather than 8th. Also, I fixed a mistake in Jimmy's dialogue._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Eight: The Occupied Stall

**"I should be getting home now. My father will worry."**

**"You rest you arm, okay!"**

**"How will I explain the bandages?"**

**"Tell him a member of your tribe patched you up."**

**"I guess so."**

**"You never told me your name."**

**"It's Blumiere."**

**"Unique. Just like you... I like it."**

**"What's yours?"**

**"Timpani."**

**"Really? Hmm... It has a nice ring to it."**

**"Thanks. I hope I can see you again."**

**"Yah... maybe..."**

**_I remember that day well. It was such a nice day._**

**_It was the day our tragedy set in motion._**

* * *

><p>Nazz packed what little she had left. A spare set of clothes, a knife, a mirror, some snacks, and a sleeping bag. Was this really it? <em>'It seems like just yesterday I had plenty of material possessions to spare.' <em>Nazz checked herself. _'Wait, it was yesterday. No, two days ago as of now. So strange... Well, I guess they'll be wanting to see me to finish up packing just about_ _now.' _She zipped up her book bag and went out of her makeshift room.

She joined her friends and their more experianced companions outside the building. Nazz never formally introduced herself to Mario and Tippi, so she took it upon herself to do so. "Hi dude, and uh... dudette." She said, waving to Tippi and Mario. "I guess I never really introduced myself. I'm Nazz, friends with the Eds. And you guys are Mario and Tippi, right?"

Mario nodded. "Why-a yes. I'm-a super Mario! Guardian of a Princess Peach o' Toadstool of the o' Mush-a-room Kingdom."

"And I'm Tippi," The butterfly responded. "A pixl who works for Merlon. A pixl is a sort of fairy."

Nazz glanced at the fluttering creature. Nazz couldn't be sure, but it looked like Tippi was sad. Maybe she'd had a troubling past. _'It's probably nothing.' _Nazz told herself. Yet she remained unconvinced. "Well, let's head to the desert." Nazz said cheerily. _'Oh god... a desert...' _Nazz moaned inside her head.

"Well first we'll have to get permission for someone to lower the bridge do we can cross to the other side of the ravine," Double D explained. "We'll have to go to the Mayor's house I suppose."

The group walked past the dusty buildings and merchandise stands where the curiously shaped people were trading for everyday goods like food, water, and clothes. The Mayor's house itself was not much different from the other buildings. It was slightly larger than the other buildings and had a light coat of red paint on the outside which was long overdue for a re-coat. The door had a sign labeled 'Mayor'. Easy enough.

"We'd better knock I suppose." Double D reached to knock, when Eddy yelled.

"For crying out loud!" He pushed Double D out of the way and bursted the door open with his foot.

"Oh for goodness sakes! You and Ed never seem to bring manors with you, Eddy! I mean! This has got to be the second or third door you and Ed have busted down on our excursion!" Double D shouted at his stumpy friend.

"Does 'My Fair Ed' ring a bell?" Eddy asked smuggly.

Double D froze and sighed. "Alright Eddy, I'll be quiet." The party wandered into the home where an old man sat atop an old leather chair. He wore large circular glasses, a purple attire, a lampshade looking hat, and he was atleast three inches shorter than Eddy. He grabbed his glasses and fumbled them around on his face, attempting to refocus his eyes at the sight of the strangers.

"Whoozit? Whatzit? What're you girl scouts doing in my house!" The Mayor said, pressing his glasses against his eyes.

"We're-a not girl scouts." Mario corrected. "But we are-a in need of-a o-ssistance. We'd-a be ever so happy if-a you could o' send for someone to-a lower the bridge."

The Mayor crossed his arms. "Eh, sorry there. Can't do that sonny. Forbidden for anyone to go further than this." He stomped over to his window, which overlooked the baron landscape. "Lot's of bad things be roaming in those parts. Can't have me bein' responsible for nobody's death, now can I? So you better watchit! That's ol' Watchitt's catchphrase that is. So watchit!"

"But sir!" Tippi said to Mayor Watchitt with urgency. "It's dire! We need to reach what is known as a Pure Heart! It may save the world! All worlds!"

"Ain't never heard of a Pure Heart." Mayor Watchitt replied. "And I've been around for ninety-three and a half years! Now how about that?"

"Pardon me sir!" Double D interjected. Watchitt turned towards the skinny kid with the sock hat. "I'm exactly sure if you'll believe me or not, but you see. Me, my two friends over there, and this kind Italian man are part of a legendary prophecy in which we're destined to save the world. Our families have been killed recently by a purple void which now looms over you dimension. If you do not let us pass, I'm afraid you'll all suffer the exact same demise." Double D stopped. His face appeared shocked and distraught. "Oh dear! I've used the word 'me' at the beginning of a listing sentence! Has this journey really brought me this barbaric as to desacrate over the sanctity of the English language!"

Mayor Watchitt thought for a second, ignoring the last part of Double D's rant. "Well, the Mayor's of the this town have always been told that one of their duties is to let forth the few heroes who'll save the Linelands cross the bridge and find a powerful magical item." Everyone's faces lit up. "But it couldn't be your six." Everyone's faces fell. "No, no, no... Not you ruffians. The real hero was described to me as carrying a pixl-"

"Uh...! Are you not seeing Little Miss Tinkerbell here, bat eyes?" Eddy asked, pointing at Tippi. The nimble butterfly responded by bonking herself on Eddy's head.

"No you whippersnapper!" Mayor Watchitt shouted in reply. "A hand shaped pixl. One for throwing, an' grabbing, and catching, and stuff."

"So you just expect us to find this hand thingy?" Eddy asked angrily.

"My elders told me it was hidden somewhere in Yold Town." Watchitt replied. "You'll have just to watchit and look around for it I suppose. So yah better watchit!"

"You've-a got to be-a kidding me?" Mario muttered.

"Guess we should start searching." Nazz suggested. Bitter, the six heroes left the Mayor's house, unsure of where to begin their dreadful search for this mysterious pixl.

...

The heroes had to restart their journey soon. But with no means to cross the ravine, other than the pulley bridge which was operated by Mayor Watchitt's men. The group slumped down near one of the small corner shops and began to try to formulate a plan. "All right then, what do we do dudes?" Nazz asked.

"Who the hell knows!" Eddy groaned. "The damn thing could be anywhere!"

"Eddy you're tone is deplorable, foul, depressing, and-" Double D stopped, and sighed. "Absolutely correct..."

"Of course I am-" Eddy stopped. "Wait? I am...?"

"Yes, hard as it is to believe Eddy, you are right." Eddy scowled, but Double D ignored him. "We have no leads or whereabouts as to the location of this pixl."

"Well-a then we better start-a searchin'!" Mario jumped up. "We've-a only got o' so much-a time to save all-a worlds!"

"But how are we supposed to find this pixl?" Double D asked. "It could take weeks to search this whole town! Even one as small as this!"

"If I make partaketh in this chat!" Ed exclaimed with glee. "This is just like episode three, season seven, of 'Mr. Lampoon, Strange Vacationer in the Bowels of Transylvania!' In that episode, Mary Sattenfile has to locate her long lost twin Medusalum by telekinesis in order to power up and stop the return of the evil wizard Bararadox! So she turns on her magic powers and uses them to find her twin Medusalum by comparing their identical chromosomes!"

"Yah know what?" Eddy asked, rhetorically. "I'm glad we have Ed with us. It's stupid people like him that make us all retain a healthy self-esteem."

"Wait a second." Double D pondered. "Ed may just be on to something here." Everyone gave Double D a surprised look. Even Ed couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

"Has Double D's brain turned into bacon?" Ed asked.

"Maybe so..." Nazz replied.

"But don't you get it!" Double D stood up and pointed at Tippi. "Tippi here is a pixl! Surely if she can sense the essence of a Pure Heart, she could also sense one of her own kind!" Tippi looked at Double D, uncertain of his plan. "Come on, Tippi! You must be able to sense your own kind. Can't you?" The rainbow butterfly's tiny eyes darted left, then right, then down at the ground.

"I- I mean- um..." Tippi stuttered. "Maybe. I- I've never tried. I haven't had the need to scout out other pixls. And besides, not all pixls are butterflies like me. They can come in all shapes and sizes and have powers unique from mine. I'd have to trace totally different energy signatures."

"Come on, Tippi!" Mario encouraged. "What-a makes all-a the pixls similar. Try-a focusing on o' that!"

"Well..." Tippi flew onto a piece of brick and thought for a minute. "All pixls were originally sealed away using the Tribe of Ancients magic, set to lie in wait for the hero. This is what the Light Prognosticus says."

"Excuse me." Nazz interrupted. "Wasn't that that book thing Double D was telling me about yesterday."

"Why yes, it is the book written to counteract the Dark Prognosticus and save all worlds." Tippi explained. "I guess if I tried sensing the Ancients' magic, it might be possible to trace the sealing pixl." She mused. "But Merlon is the only ancient I've ever met."

"Then search for an energy similar to his," Double D suggested. Tippi flew up and began to glow, using her magic to try and sense any power that would be similar to that of Merlon's. Tiny glimmers of light sparked around the rainbow colored butterfly. She appeared to be in a trance. Finally, the lights seized. Tippi blinked and turned towards her companions...

"I think I sense a faint energy that way." She turned her body towards the left. "It feels like Merlon's, but... I don't know. I feels as though it was magic that was cast by a woman, who resembles Merlon a lot."

"I think we have our lead!" Double D exclaimed gleefully.

"Let's go mystery gang!" Ed yelled with a happy voice. He jumped onto his pet Sproingy, which collapsed under his weight. The sproing divided into three tiny little copies of itself, and the miniatures began to bounce away. "Wait for me, fellow friends of the clock mechanisms!" Ed then broke off and trotted towards some unknown direction.

Eddy blinked, then sat up. He trudged after Ed, grumpily muttering, "I swear if his head wasn't screwed on, he'd lose it within three minutes." The rest stood up and went to locate their missing friend.

...

After the twenty minutes spent finding Ed were finished, Tippi began to home in on the mysterious energy which was believed to be where a pixl was sealed. While Tippi led the way, she appeared to be in a dazed state, almost unconscious, but still moving as if by muscle memory. Every now and again, she'd come back to them and tell them where they were going in the town, but then she snapped right back into her daze and followed the energy.

The next time Tippi stopped to give directions, Mario asked, "Are-a you alright, Tippi? You o' pretty-a distant when-a you're tracking the o' magic energy. You're-a fully aware when-a you're leading us to-a Pure Heart."

Tippi replied. "Pure hearts resonate a lot of power and energy. An old magic seal, that requires complete concentration to track. Think of it this way. For me, tracking a Pure Heart is like tracking a tree in the middle of an open field. But old magic, cast long ago... that's like trying to find a tiny see in tall kunai grass. I require absolute concentration." And with that, she turned away and went right back into her transfixed state.

"If you ask me, Tinker Bell is kinda creepy when she's like that." Eddy commented.

"I agree. It is rather..." Double D searched for a polite word. "Unnatural."

"It reminds me of Eddy in math class." Ed said.

Double D looked at Tippi, then back at Eddy. "Actually, a pretty good likeness." Double D giggled.

"I can totally see it, dude!" Nazz interjected.

Eddy blushed, then decided to take advantage of the situation. "I bet I look hot in a dazed state, don't I Nazz?" Eddy said in the manliest voice he could muster.

"Um... no." Nazz responded. "You sorta drool... like a lot; and you look kinda chubby when you're sleeping. No offense, 'kay dude?"

"Smooth..." Mario whispered. Eddy was steaming like vegetable, about ready to punch the plumber.

"Well, you're not exactly 'Mr. Buff', are yah red cap?" Eddy asked sarcastically. Choosing to ignore Eddy, Mario walked closer to Tippi, separating himself the midget of a child. Eddy trudged to the back of the group, trying to outlast the ridicule he'd just recieved.

Nazz walked over to Double D. "So, what exactly have you guys faced so far that's all that dangerous?"

Double D explained of the koopas, goombas, and squigs which inhabited this dimension. He told Nazz of how Eddy was almost killed by a koopa shell to the head and how he himself almost succombed to the circular thwomps which would've crushed him had it not been for Mario. Nazz looked horrified. Double D returned her a sympathetic gaze. "This is why we don't want you coming with us." Double explained. "We're trying to find our second pure heart- well, technically it's our first because Merlon gave us our first one, but that's not the point. In the first dimension we've visited, we've almost been killed twice. And we're still a long ways from the pure heart, not to mention the others. The fact we're armed and trained only helps us a little bit. You're unarmed and at the same risk as us. We don't want something bad to happen to you."

"That's just it." Nazz replied. "I don't want something bad to happen to you guys either. I couldn't stand sitting here and waiting, not know what would become of you guys. So I'm going with you five and helping in anyway that I can, and that's that!"

"I know." Double D said. "Just be careful."

The two managed to pull a grin. They kept a meager silence as they followed Mario and Tippi through Yold Town.

About an ten minutes later, Tippi stopped them. She turned towards a building to their left. "The energy appears to be coming from that building."

"Finally, we can catch this stupid thing and get on with the important things in our life!" Eddy groaned. Everyone began walking to the door of the hut, when Double D ran in front of them and blocked their path.

"Wait! Stop! We can't go in there!" Double D yelled at the top of his lungs.

"And, why o' not?" Mario asked. Double D pointed towards the overhanging sign above the door. It showed a rough drawing of a female character who resembled the people which lived in this town. Mario frowned. "Are you-a kidding me?" Mario groaned.

"We can't just barge into the ladies room! It's indecent!" Double D reasoned.

"Hey? Really?" Eddy asked sarcastically. "Yah know what I find indecent? THE END OF THE WORLD!"

"But this is so wrong!" Double D yelled.

"Oh, grow a pair and be a man!" Eddy retorted, before kicking Double D into the restroom, knocking down the door in the process.

"That's three doors now, Eddy!" Double D yelled.

"For god's sakes..." Nazz moaned, walking into the bathroom.

"Is he-a always like o' this?" Mario asked Ed.

"Every single season!" Ed replied. The group entered the bathroom, some more willingly than others, and began to search for the mysterious pixl. Nazz and Mario began searching through the stalls, Ed began sticking his head down the drains in the sinks, and Double D, Eddy, and Tippi looked in the air vents and behind the mirrors. At one point, a female resident of Yold Town walked into the bathroom, only to find the heroes searching throught the place.

Eddy turned toward the lady and said, "Yeesh! What's the matter with you! Can't yah see we'd appreciate some privacy?" The shaped woman nodded awkwardly and backed away from the restrooms slowly.

"Eddy! Civil tones! There was no need to be rude!" Double D chastised.

"I liked how we're in the girls room!" Ed exclaimed.

The group appeared to making no progress and were about to try looking around the outside of the building when they heard Nazz call, "Hey dudes! I think I've found something!" Everyone rushed over to the stall Nazz was in to see what she had found. **(Note to self: Probably the most awkward thing I'll ever write.)**

"I think this toilet leads somewhere." Nazz said, pointing at the seat. "It's filled with no water, and it looks like a pit or something." True enough, the toilet was filled with no water. It was a deep pit of sorts, and was just large enough for a person to go down. From the bowels of the fixture, the group could a light thumping. It was faint, meaning that it was most likely a very deep drop to the bottom.

"This could-a mean trouble." Mario told his teammates. "I'll-a go-a down first and o' see if-a there's-a any danger. Only follow if I-a call back." Everyone nodded. Mario climbed onto the toilet, breathed in once, and then jumped down, yelling, "!" as he fell. The sound grew faint, and a light bump resonated back to the surface. At first, nothing. But then a voice called back up to them. "It's-a okay. There's-a no immediate danger! It's about o' fifty feet!"

"Coming Mario!" Tippi called back. She flew down into the drain and disappeared.

"With our training, I think I can handle a fifty feet drop!" Eddy boasted. "And I'll catch Nazz at the bottom!" exclaimed Eddy. "Yah know, cause I'm the heroiest hero in hero town!" He jumped right in, not thinking about his safety one bit. Ed, Double D, and Nazz heard a loud crash followed by a loud yell. "Fucking pipe! Damn my ankle! This hurts like hell!"

"My turn!" Ed called. He cannonballed into toilet laughing all the way down. Another loud crash rang throughout the bathroom. Then Eddy's abnormally loud voice was heard cursing Ed.

"Well Nazz, I'll go next." Double D told his remaining partner. "One of us will catch you at the bottom. Jump when we tell you to jump, okay?"

"Sure," Nazz replied. Double D inched forward. He inched onto the toilet bowl and muttered about the germs and filth which might lay inside this entry way. Holding his breath, he dropped and collided with the ground at the bottom about seven seconds later. Surprisingly, his landing was soft. Double D looked at his feet, only to find Eddy, squashed like a pancake underneath him.

"Oh, sorry Eddy." Double D apologized sheepishly, stepping off his companion.

Eddy sat up and looked at Double D, letting off a dazed and confused expression. "That's 'A' okay Double D! I'm-a just waitin' for Nazz-" That was all he said before Nazz flattenened him, just as Double D had did only a moment ago

Nazz looked at Eddy. She said, "Gee Eddy, like thanks for catching me!" She stepped off of Eddy and let him slowly sit up.

"Heh, heh, heh!" Eddy laughed semi-consciously. "Those birds are carrying money. Stop flying around me money birdies!" He began to try to catch the 'birds' which his amnesiac mind had dreamed up.

"Eddy! Stop-a fooling o'-round!" Mario reminded the boy. "We have-a o' mission to-a complete!" Mario looked around. The room they'd landed in was barren for the most part. A door was located in the back of the room, if it could even still be defined as a door. It was so old and rotten. The wood was infested with maggots and the hinges were rusted to the point of turning to dust at the slightest touch. Fifteen-hundred years had not been good on the entry way.

"Filthy, filthy, filthy..." muttered Double D.

From the other side of the door, booms could be heard. Grunts were audible as well. Sensing danger, the Eds grabbed their weapons. Eddy took out three knives, Double D loaded his bow, and Ed grabbed his axe from his jacket. Eddy ordered Nazz to let the 'men' handle the job. Begrudgingly, Nazz moved behind her cul-de-sac companions. Mario motioned then to relax. "It's-a okay. These-a aren't o' the fighting kind-a enemies."

Mario pushed the door over with little force and led the group into the room. Inside, were enemies like those they'd seen on the trip up the Mount Lineland. They were rectangular however, and were rising and falling in a speedy motion. Though they bore no spikes, the enemies must've weighed about five tons each. "Thwomps." Mario spoke.

Double D watched as they seemingly smashed into the ceiling and floor without any assistance by a pulley system of electromagnetic field. "Gravity anyone?" Double D asked sarcastically.

"Is she a friend from Texas?" Ed asked.

"Yes." Eddy responded, leading Ed on. "A big, stupid girl who never bathes and reads way too many comics."

"She sounds like a moron!" Ed replied. Eddy giggled.

Mario studied the thwomps. They were the same width as the walls and were moving at such a speed, even Mario himself doubted he could run fast enought to avoid being squished. "I-a gotta hand-a it to o' these-a elders." Mario commended. "They know-a their traps. I-a doubt Bowser would o' ever have-a thought up such-a an elaborate o' blockade."

"So is he an idiot or something?" Eddy asked.

"Of-a the sort." Mario replied. "But we'll-a talk of o' his-a short comings later. Right-a now, we-a need-a to focus on o' passing-a through this-a trap."

"Ugh!" Eddy groaned. "This is getting nowhere!" He grabbed a knife in anger and threw it as hard as he could at the thwomp in front of them. Much to the groups surprise, it disappeared right through the side of the large brick enemy. "Why did my knife just pull a Houdini?" Eddy asked.

"Turn on your powers, fellows!" Double D ordered. Everyone followed in suit. As their pupils flashed purple, they now saw the centers of the bottoms of the thwomps were just an illusion. In reality, they looked like blocky, upside-down 'U's. Together, their missing middles formed a small and thin passageway for the heroes to walk through. Unfortunately, it was a tight fit, Ed himself would have to squat or risk getting a concunsion trying to walk through the narrow entry way. Worse, Nazz didn't have their vision powers. See couldn't see the path at all. Someone would have to carefully guide her through the thin passage.

"All right!" Mario proclaimed. "Here's-a how it's-a gon-o' work! We're-a going to maneuver through-a the passage slowly. Double D; you're-a gonna lead Nazz-"

"Hey, hey, hey! Time out!" Eddy yelled. "How come sockhead get's to help Nazz?"

"Because, you're the last person we'd ever trust with a person's life," Tippi explained.

"Lunch break!" Everyone turned to see Ed snacking on the atrocious wooden bits of what once was the rotting door.

"Scratch that, second to last," Tippi reevaluated. "Only if you and Ed were the only two candidates in all dimensions, would we select you." the pixl clarified. Eddy grunted, but didn't argue, seeing it as pointless.

"Everyone be careful," Tippi warned. And with that, the heroes began to slowly walk through the small passage. Ed was crawling like an animal, making unusual noises as he went along. Everyone could feel the wind of the thwomps moving up and down. Nazz was scared most of all. She couldn't see the passage. To her, it was as though she was walking through moving solid bricks.

At one point, Nazz felt a sharp pain in her right hand. She jerked it back and saw the top of her hand was bleeding. It had probably scarped against one of the moving thwomps. _'Gotta keep my arms in,' _Nazz reminded herself. Grabbing on tighter to Double D's arm, she kept as thin as she possibly could, hoping she wouldn't get any more injuries in this moving tunnel.

As they exited the invisible tunnel, the party came upon what appeared to be another empty room, with only a large thick steel door on the far wall. "Anyone notice how every room in this stupid world seems to be as barren as Ed's mind?" Eddy asked rhetorically.

"Yes!" Ed replied.

Eddy facepalmed. "Well no sense standing here," Double D said. "Shall we forge onward?" The heroes made their way to the door. It felt cold and heavy, yet it carried a strange sort of warmth. Not a warmth like heat or energy, but a feeling of sorts. It was as if, this room contained hope itself for the heroes. No one in the group quite knew how to describe it. Without waiting any longer, Mario pulled the door open.

The room itself was as barren as the last, yet there were key differences. The ceiling had to be atleast fifty feet high, the room's air was so dusty and oxygen starved that the group could barely speak, and their was a small chest sitting in the middle of the room. "Well... *cough*! This seems- HACK! To be a rather... undesirable location." Double D muttered between coughs.

"No, really *wheeze*?" Eddy asked sarcastically through sputters.

Only Tippi seemed unfazed._ 'Pixls must not need air to live.' _Double D thought to himself. _'How intriguing.' _Tippi floated around the room, circling left and right. "This is-" Tippi muttered. "Oh no! We have to g-" But she was too late. A large metallic clank, followed by a strange slashing noise resonated throughout the room. Everyone turned to see the door had shut itself. The door was now fastened with dead bolds and chains. Most certainly unbreakable by even someone of Ed's strength. "We've been had. This trap was set by magic." Tippi whispered.

"Oh- just, *cough* wonderful." Eddy murmered.

"What do... we- do...?" Nazz sputtered.

"Ed want air! AHHCCHOOO!" Ed sneezed.

"I- I think, *cough* there's a- b...button on the ceiling." Double D muttered. Indeed there was. That button was probably their ticker out of this death trap. Tippi flew high up towards the red space and shoved on it with all he might, but being a fragile butterfly formed pixl, she could not force it hard enough to activate. She came down with dread, seeing as how she had no idea how to save her friends.

"The- the uh... chest." Mario said, trying to cover his face from the near deadly air eminating from the room.

Everyone dashed over to the chest, as fast as their wheezing lungs would allow them. "O- open it..." Eddy gasped. Mario brutely grabbed the black trunk, and flung it open. A moment later, out popped the mysterious pixl. He was rainbow shaded, just like Tippi, but he looked like a hand with two eyes in the center of it. A strange sort of being, that made Tippi look like a common moth.

"Woah! After fifteen-hundred years I arrive upon this sorry sight of a group!" The pixl exclaimed. "What an odd ball group of heroes you guys are. You guys are late, yah know? I've been sittin' in their for so long... I swear! Countin' sheep get's boring after the first hundred or so years! They call me Thoreau, yah know. Don't wear it out!" He turned toward Tippi. "Well, what I fine sight you are." Tippi blushed. "You a pixl? Mus' be a new model or something."

Tippi looked confused. "Model? What do you mean mo-"

"Oh, hush!" Thoreau stopped her. "'Sides! I should probably ask yah'll a few questions. Like for instance, what the heck delayed the end of everything for so long! Or for that matter, why weren't you guys born earlier? Your folks wait 'till they was fifty or something to have you gu-"

"OH FOR HEAVENS SAKE! THIS IS NO TIME FOR QUESTIONS!" She snapped, angered at how oblivious Thoreau was to the group's suffering. "My friends are dying, I need your help! Get us out of this room!"

"Sure thing!" Thoreau replied enthusiastically. "Now who wants the power up?"

"P-p-power up?" Mario asked, his voice muffled by his hands.

"Oh! Just- ACHOO! Jus' give it to Nazz!" Double D said through coughs.

Eddy retorted. "But I- I want a power u-"

"Zip it Eddy!" Double D spat. "S- she had n- *sputter* no wea- wuhpons, nor power ups yet. Jus- Just give it... to her a- and *cough* get us out... of here..."

"Ed still wants air! ACHOO!" Ed sneezed.

"All right then!" Thoreau piped up. He flew straight at the blonde girl and collided with her chest. Nazz felt as though a firework had gone off inside her body. Her body heated up and shook violently like a chihuahua. She blinked and waited for the sensations to disappear. When it ended, she sat down, trying to contain herself. Then she heard the voice of Thoreau. "_What's shakin', my new soul host?"_

"Who... who was that?" Nazz asked.

The heroes looked at Nazz anxiously. "Nazz, are- *sputter* you all- r...right?" Eddy said through his cracked voice.

"Wh- where are you?" She replied. Her party gave her a confused stare.

_"Considering I'm inside your soul now, you're the only one who can hear me, and you sound a bit crazy to your friends right now." _Nazz froze and blinked. What did she just hear? Thoreau in- her soul? _"Now do you wanna die or live; or what?"_

"Live..." she whispered, so quiet Thoreau could barely hear her.

_"Okay then, now listen up, blondie! My power is to grab and hit things from far away. Throw a punch at that button on the ceiling."_

"Wh- what?" Everyone else around Nazz looked baffled.

"N-Nazz..." Mario said hoarsely. "I-a think *cough* that you're-a h...hallucinating. Try *wheeze* try to- get-a some-a the- *cough*! Speak less, okay?"

Nazz ignored the man. "What'll happen if I throw a punch at the-?"

_"Just do it!" _Nazz did not hesitate. As powerful as she could in her weakened state, she threw a punch at the button atop of the room. Surprisingly, a wave of energy in the shape of a fist left he arm and smashed into the red activation switch. The chains and bolts disappeared from the door, freeing the choking on the inside. _"How's that for a super power, sweet cheeks?" _Thoreau asked.

Everyone belted out of the musty room as quickly as their contaminated lungs would allow them. They sat down, resting for a moment, trying to refill themselves with clean air. Finally, when their lungs were cleansed, Double D spoke. "Alright, Nazz, what was that display back in that dust pit of death?" he asked, uncertain of the events which had resonated. "I mean- how did- a blue bioluminescent fist shot out of your... well- fist! And, who in the world were you speaking to?"

"Let's just say, I think found my soul mate." Nazz replied, excited to tell her friends of her newly aquired powers.

* * *

><p><em>Wow... I expected to atleast write about our heroes walking into the deserts in this chapter. I... I think... I think I'm getting to be a more detailed writer.<em>


	9. The Burning Palm

_I went back and edited some the previous three chapters. It was mostly for grammatical mistakes, nothing too major. But one big mistake was a continuity error with Eddy's brother from chapter 3 and 7. Originally I said all of Eddy's first seven years of life were terrible, but clearly that was contradicted in chapter 7. I'm going back to chapter 3 to fix this. Well, we're about to start the desert scene. Get ready for a riddle and an introduction to some new enemies which I'll bet you can guess who they are. Also, anyone is welcome to critique. I have one person, Yoshermon, who is doing most of it right now. I am grateful that he is helping me with my chapters as they are written, but I would love to hear what others have to say about my writing. Good, Needs work; I'd like to know. Thanks!_

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Nine: The Burning Palm

**"Who's there?"**

**...**

**"Show yourself! I'm armed."**

**"Hello, Blumeire."**

**"What? Timpani!"**

**"Shocked are we?"**

**"What are you doing here? It's not safe for humans to be this close to the Tribe boundaries."**

**"You said it yourself. I'm not an ordinary girl."**

**"BUT-"**

**"If my safety is that important to you, let's go somewhere else."**

**"But I'm on patrol-"**

**"Say you met a wild beast! Come on! I know a great spot!"**

* * *

><p>Watchitt was looking out his window, wondering how he was going to get his door fixed, when he heard footsteps aprroaching his entry way. His body shook. His mind flooded with memories of the year 12427, when squigs and squigletts infested the entire village. "I've gotta act tough! Gotta watch it for Jeremy!" the Mayor exclaimed, sounding like an old man reliving war time memories.<p>

Mayor Watchitt scurried across his room, picking up a large shovel. The shadows at the doorway came closer. He began to have vivid memories of all the squigs in his house. Watchitt twitched like mad. "Now or never! WATCH IT!" He told himself. The mayor pounced forward and bashed the intruder in his head with the shovel. The boy in the yellow shirt fell to the ground with a dazed smile on his face, appearing just barely conscious.

"Whatzit! Whozit! What war is this?" Watchitt shouted at the group.

"Is is just me, or is senility a common trait among the elderly in this dimension?" Double D asked.

"A curse to the old ones like flies on a fat man's buttocks." Ed said sheepishly with a grin.

"Where are those girl scouts with my cookies?" The mayor asked. He pulled his glasses a bit closer to his face. "Oh! It's you guys! Back with more tales about how you're the chosen ones?"

Eddy stood up and grabbed his head, trying to ignore the rattling sensation. Steaming with annoyance, he began to speak to the Mayor. "Look lampshade," Eddy said, recovering from the painful blow. "We got the pixl. Can you lower the gate now?"

"What? Uh..." The mayor said, trying to remember. "Oh yeah, you guys... Sorry! Told yah before! Only a hero with a hand shaped pixl would be able to survive those ruins."

"Nazz." Tippi gestured to her blonde comrade. Nazz nodded in reply. Nazz then closed her eyes, held up her hand, and using her newfound powers, created a powerful blue, shimmering energy around her hand.

_"Just imagine me, doll face. Try to morph that energy into a living statue of me. Get my good side, 'kay!" _Thoreau told her mentally. Nazz remembered as much as she could about the hand shaped pixl. Using her memory alone, she transformed the energy surrounding her hand into a clear image which nearly exactly resembled Thoreau. The Mayor leaped up in surprise.

"Why! Yah do have one a 'dem pixls!" Watchitt exclaimed. "Wow! You guys ain't been gone, what-? Two hours?"

"Two and o' half." Mario clarified. "And-a we'd really like o' to get-a going!"

"Eh, sure! If it gets you pesky people outta my hair." Watchitt reached into his pocket, and to everyone's surprise, pulled out a cell phone. It was small and basic, probably only good for calling others, but never the less, it was a cell phone, an out of place, piece of the modern world.

"'Aye Green!" Watchitt said into the device. "This is Watchitt." - "Yeah, got some people provin' to be the heroes here." - "Yes I ain't losin' my marbles! I'm watching 'em right now!" - "Hey! Watch it, there! That language ain't tolerable in my town, so watch it!" - "Whatever, Green. Just lower the bridge for these people!" - "Good! Thank you!" He put away his cell phone, and looked up at the travelers. "You guys are all set. Just go talk to Green, down by the bridge."

"Was that a cellular contact device?" Double D asked in awe.

"A what?" Watchitt replied.

"A cellular phone-" Double D responded.

"No! It's a communicon, run on magic, handed down to each mayor by their predecessor, used to contact men using traveling voices." Watchitt argued.

"But it's clearly running by technological advancements! Not magi-"

"You just better watch it, or I'll have you had! GOT IT!"

...

Deciding it'd be best not to argue with the mayor, Mario and company left the tiny man and went on to the second bridge on the other side of town. Green was very much the same as Red, from the southern bridge. Green appeared to be a bit taller however, dressed in- well... green instead of red, but nevertheless, he still slightly reminded the group of Mario. Mario most of all was stunned.

Double D swore he heard Mario mutter, "Luigi." _'An old friend perhaps,' _Double D thought. _'Or a sibling, but Mario sees resemblance in this man somehow.'_

Green pulled a series of switches, and the bridge was slowly hoisted up. This one looked in much better shape than the one before it. It was actually made of metal, required steel mechanisms and used gears to be hoist up the bridge. No marvel to Earth's modern day bridges, but certainly much safer than the last bridge of rope and wood bridge they'd come upon.

"I've done my job. You guys can move on." Green said. But, just as the sextet was about to cross, the man stopped them. "But first. What's the most manliest color in the-"

"Oh no!" Double D shrieked. "I've had enough with that game! Thank you very much!" And with that, the beanie wearing Ed stepped onto the bridge, mumbling angrily as he crossed.

"What's his problem?" Green asked. "Now then, what is the most manly color in the world?"

"Does it really matter?" asked Eddy. "I mean- come on! It's just colors! Is green supposed to be like, god or something?"

Green froze then twitched.

...

"You really need to stop picking fights, Eddy," Tippi warned.

"I wasn't picking a fight!" Eddy said, rubbing his swollen cheek. "He lost it when I said colors didn't matter. Anyone got any ice?" Mario sighed.

"Eddy... we're-a in o' desert!" Mario told the Ed, pointing out to the endless sands that surrounded them. "Where-a are we supposed o' to get-a ice?"

"Geez... sorry I asked." Eddy moaned. "Ugh! This sand is killing my feet!" Eddy yelled. He pulled off his left shoe, and began to shake it like a maraca. Grains of tiny rocks poured out of his shoes like a waterfall. "Any of you guys have any boots?"

"Oh, just the boots we bought with the coins Merlon gave us Eddy." Double D reminded his friend. "Maybe if you spend your money on supplies and gear instead of candy and such, you'd have boots which block out sand."

Eddy grimaced in annoyance. "Are you making fun of me?"

"Certainly not Eddy," Double D replied sarcastically.

"Sure fooled me, Double D!" Ed laughed.

"Whatever," Eddy muttered. He trudged forward, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Indeed, the sun was beating down upon the heroes with its entire wrath. The heat was excruciatingly painful. Double D remarked that it must be at least one-hundred and ten degrees out here. The sand did not help much either. It warmed up much hotter than the air, and stung the group's skin upon touch. The only comfort was the palm trees which seemed to grow out of nowhere. The milk from the coconuts did provide some nourishment.

Yet it still got worse. Fighting in these terrible conditions was horrible. Already today, they'd run into four koopas, three goombas, and five squigs and squiglets. The battles were only getting tougher as they progressed. Some koopas and goombas were being equipped with wings to hover ten feet off the ground. Fighting them was a challenge. Some goombas were also fitted with spikes, making them hard to approach.

Everyone did their best fighting all of these tough new adversaries, but fighting out in the scorching sun was a task, indeed. The sand burned them when they ran and fought, and the sweat made it difficult to attack and grasp weapons. Nazz barely had the energy to use Thoreau on incoming enemies. Eddy and Double D had resisted urges to leave their dropped weapons behind. Though it wasted energy, retrieving the arrows and knives were vital to survival.

Even Ed had begun to feel the coarse effects of the sun. He began licking the sand, imagining that it was gravy. Eddy had to keep slapping Ed to bring him out of his hallucinations.

Tippi had no such symptoms. Being a pixl, she rarely experienced the sensation of pain or suffering. Looking at her friends, burning in the heat and frying in the sand made her feel like crying. Only the thought of the mission kept her from letting her friends take constant rests. "You're enjoying watching us bake, aren't you, Tinkerbell?" Eddy asked.

"Well... I feel bad for Mario, Double D, Ed, and Nazz. Not so much you," Tippi retorted, getting her revenge. Eddy frowned.

"Hey! Like, what's that?" Nazz shouted, staring off into the distant. Everyone turned and saw a group of small pink bubbles. Upon further inspection, it was revealed to be three bubbles. Two pink, one grey. The grey bubble had two blank eyes, and the two pink bubbles seemed to imitate a butt. Ed took one look at it, and burst out laughing.

"HAHAHA!" Ed giggled. "What an inappropriate thing to include on a T.V. show!"

"Well, I'm sure whoever the parents were, disowned that ugly thing!" Eddy yelled with laughter. Ed and Eddy fell on the ground, laughing like maniacs.

"I fail to see the humor in this!" Double D shouted back. "This thing could be dangerous, and I believe we should approach with extreme cau-" Before the beanie wearing Ed could finish, the bubbly creature spat a pink cloud from what appeared to be it's... rear... The pink cloud enveloped Double D. He took two quick sniffs then passed out onto the hot sand.

"Well, I-a wouldn't o' call it dangerous." Mario replied. "But-a definitely o' nuisance, at-a that."

Eddy stood up, finished laughing, and said, "Well, it's not a threat, but seems like it'd be fun to pop!" He grabbed a knife from his backpack, and swung it at the pink enemy. It burst on contact, and exploded into a strange sort of goo. The pink liquid splashed everywhere within a five yard radius, mostly onto Eddy. He froze. Turned around, and screamed. "MY EYES!" Indeed, the liquid had indeed gotten into his eyes, and appeared to be making them red and bloodshot. "Get it out! Get it out! GET IT OUT...!" Eddy sprinted in no particular direction, running in circles like an idiot.

"The pink ectoplasm likes Eddy!" Ed yelled with glee.

"Is it wrong if I'm laughing at this?" Nazz asked, trying to quiet her giggling. "Cause, I don't want seem mean or anything but... HAHA!"

Mario sighed. "I'll-a go wake-a Double D."

"No need!" Ed yelled. "Mr. Loudmouth is doing it for us."

Standing next to the sound asleep Double D, was stocky figure, nearly human, except for its head being replaced with a bright glowing yellow and purple boom box. It had a strangely devilish smile on its face, which unsettled Mario and Tippi.

"Dude! That's definitely my kind of pal, right there!" Nazz shouted. "Maybe it knows the safety dance!"

"Maybe it knows the muffin man." Ed said quizzically.

The next event came as to a surprise to everyone. The boom box headed enemy, pressed a button on itself, and a loudening screaming noise emitted from its speakers. The sound seemed to be a mix of a woman screaming, a knife scratching against a chalkboard, loud ringing, and loud explosions. The group covered their ears, and Tippi hid under Mario's hat, but that did little to stop the noises.

About ten seconds into the torture, Double D snapped awake. "Ah! Putrid screams!" On reflexes alone, the frightened Ed punched the humanoid boom box in its face, causing the creature to fall to the ground. Humorously, the boom box began playing sound effects of birds chirping. "Oh my, what a questionable turn of events," Double D said to himself.

"My ears are on fire!" Nazz moaned, rubbing her head.

"My luck just keeps getting worse," Eddy muttered trying to soothe all of his injuries.

"What a bothersome creature." Tippi said, climbing out from under Mario's cap.

Mario quickly regained his poise, and then began shouting orders. "We should get out of here quickly!" Mario ordered. "I'll be anything that enemies from all around would've heard that and if we don't-"

"Too late," Eddy said melodramatically, pointing behind Mario. Mario spun around to see at least twenty-five enemies, standing smugly, looking ready to attack. Koopas, goombas, short rock creatures, and more of those bubble enemies had snuck up behind the party, ready for heated battle.

"You guys wouldn't happen to be looking for a set of heroes, would you?" asked Ed, grinning.

"Stop them!" One of the koopas commanded. "They must not reach the Tree of Embers."

"Tree of what?" Nazz asked no one in particular.

"Attack!" a goomba shouted.

And so, war had been waged. The lead koopa spun towards the group, and everyone took to defense. Ed leaped in front of the oncoming shell, and swung his axe out towards the koopa, the shell shattered the koopa was flung into the air. That's when the rest of villains bull rushed them.

The goombas ganged up on Mario. A jumping contest ensued, seeing as to who could jump higher and squash their opponent. Just as Mario managed to land a successful ground pound on one of the goomba's heads, another ran forward and football tackled him into his back. Mario was launched forward and landed on the ground. The third goomba came around to attack, but Mario retalliated with a violent punch.

Nazz and Ed became a team holding off oncoming koopas as they spinned at them with violent speeds. When one defense failed, the other was there to parry. Nazz used her long range punches with Thoreau's powers to keep enemy koopas at a distance, while Ed took out any who came too close with his axe.

Double D began an effective strategy of running as far from the pinkish bubble creatures as he could, then using his arrows to pop them. He was cautious though. With a limited number of arrows, and no time to retrieve them in battle, he found himself dashing across the sands to get the best positions that he could. Only with absolute certainty would he let an arrow fly.

Eddy tried throwing knives at the rocks with fists. They did nothing however, only ricocheting off the beasts and become possible threats to his friends where the swung off to. He tried using flower objects and lightning volt items, but they had no effect on the creatures, who seemed to be impervious to fire and electricity. The rock men began surrounding the frightened child. In desperation, Eddy threw the earthquake item onto the ground. The ground shook violently around Eddy, and the rock men began to crumble apart.

From up above, Tippi watched, unable to fight. unsure what to do.

...

For two hours, they fought. Atleast ten more villains joined the scuffle during the action. Extremely overpowed, the team had been run ragged. Mario and Tippi recooperated rather easily due to their prior experiance with enemies, but everyone else was sore, miserable, and defeated after their first real brawl.

Nazz kept up a silent conversation with Thoreau, trying to drown out the foul air. _"I say we were a fine pair in that scirmish; know what I'm sayin', babe?"_ Thoreau commented to Nazz.

"Let's just say it was a pill." Nazz whispered, so only Thoreau, inside of her, could hear.

"I've had it with nature..." Eddy moaned, continuing to rub his swollen eyes. "I've had with people." He gently massaged his cheek. "I've had it with music." He muttered, sticking his finger into his sound damaged ear. "Yah know what! I've just about had it!" He stomped over to a floating item block and punched it. A red tulip looking item with eyes fell from the box. "I've even had it with the item boxes! They ain't givin' me money!" Eddy yelled. He threw the attack item into the air.

Mario ran up and caught the projectile as it fell. "What's-a wrong with-a you! You-a all-o'-most threw-a away this fire flower!" Eddy tried to ignore the Italian man. Mario charged in front of Eddy and stopped him in his tracks. "There's-a more important things than-a money, you know!"

Eddy gave Mario a blank stare. "Yah- sure... whatever. Can we get moving? It's getting dark," Eddy indicated, pointing up towards the fading sun. "And I wanna get somewhere near this pure heart before I pass out."

"Stop complaining." Tippi responded. "Did you know, you've traveled twenty-five miles today? We're actually getting close, you know."

"That's great!" Eddy yelled sarcastically. "But I'd like to make just a bit more leeway so tomorrow can be smooth sailing. Now let's go." Eddy trudged forward a few steps, before snapping around. He scanned his teammates. "1...2...3...4...glow moth... Where's sockhead!"

Everyone's heads spun. "I dunno dude." Nazz replied. "He was just here a second ago, wasn't he?"

"He has gone to study botany!" Ed explained, pointed to his left.

The group turned to see Double D, studying a palm tree with red leaves about thirty or so yards away. He was observant, and diligent; taking careful notes as he examined the specimen of fauna. "Hmm..." Double D pondered to himself. "Intriguing… It appears to be unique from all others of its species. I hypothesize a specific genetic mutation had created an albino pigmentation upon the leaves. From a distance, I speculated flames, but I see now the suns reflection has created an illusion of such-"

"Double D!" Tippi shouted. "What was that talk we had earlier?"

Double D spun around. "Right," He reminded himself. "Save world now! Study the effects of the universe later." He proceeded to run his awkward looking sprint, back to the group. After that slight distraction, the team continued forward. Every once in a while, a group member would glance up at the dark void, made even more eerie by the swirling colors of twilight surrounding it's evil.

After about another hour or so of walking, everyone decided it was too dark to go forward. They could hardly see and it'd be much harder to go into combat in the dark. While Nazz, Eddy, and Ed began working on a fire, Double D and Mario began pitching up the tents. At first, no was really sure what Mario and Double D were doing. They appeared to be digging holes into the ground.

"Uh... Double D," Eddy gestured. "I'm pretty sure you two are supposed to be pitching tents. NOT DIGGING OUR GRAVES!"

Double D laughed. "They're flip tents Eddy!" Double D explained. "Made to be pitched like a normal tent, or set up in the ground for camouflage. We just figured with all the enemies around, it'd be safer this way."

Eddy shrugged and went back to shouting for Ed to fetch more firewood. Ed returned a few minutes later with several rooted up palm trees. He then raised his axe, and began to chant, "Chop the trees! Chop the trees! Chop the trees!" as he cut up the thin trunks of the desert plants. It took Nazz mere seconds to start the fire. No one had guess Nazz would be so skilled in such techniques.

"That was sweet! Where'd you learn to do that?" Eddy asked with amazement.

"My dad taught me." Nazz replied somberly, staring into the flames she'd just created. "He used to take me camping. We didn't go much after he died, but I remember everything he showed me."

It became silent in the campsite. Tippi dared to break this silence. "Your father sounds like he was great man." she told Nazz, trying to lighten the girl's spirits.

"Yeah, he was." Nazz replied, smiling. "Toughest dude in the Peach Creek Urban Rangers of the seventies."

"Those guys bug me." muttered Eddy.

"Because they gave him a badge with a rattle," Ed reminisced.

"Shut up Ed!" Eddy retorted. Before he could say more, his stomach rumbled. "Man I'm starved."

"We could-a cook o' you some-a squiglet," Mario said, reaching into his backpack for the carcasses.

"NO... THANKS!" Eddy shouted in reply. "I'm sticking to my treats!" With that, Eddy reached into his bag, and pulled out a handful of Flipside candies, unwrapping the pieces of sugary goodness.

"Eddy! For shame! You can't just load your body with unhealthy sugars and tooth rotting preservatives! You must get some form of protein into your body! Just think; we're barely getting our daily replenishing vitamins, nutrients, and other necessities to support a healthy body! Just think of how weak we'll be after-"

"Alright! ALRIGHT!" Eddy silenced his friend. "I'll eat your rotten pig's meat..."

"Can I eat the lucky hoof?" Ed asked giddily.

"Um... sure Ed." Mario replied nervously. "You-a can have-a the lucky hoof."

"And the retina!" Ed shouted.

"Can this guy get any grosser," Tippi asked, after an uncomfortable silence.

"Believe me," Double D explained. "He's done much... stranger things..." Double D stuttered, unsure himself how to say what he wanted to say.

"Like what?" Tippi asked. That question sparked a so called story time among the group. Double D, Eddy, and Ed began to recount the mischief they got into back in Peach Creek. They recalled past scams they'd pulled and adventures they'd gotten in to. Eddy loved to exaggerate the tales by saying how 'masculant' he was, only to be countered by Double D who'd explain the true coarse of events which had transpired. Ed told the truth, but from his point of view, it sounded like a completely different story all together.

Nazz described the other members of the cul-de-sac. Jimmy the wimpy boy who played with dolls and stuffed animals and hung around with Sarah. Sarah, Ed's little sister who always yelled at Ed for the littlest things and played with Jimmy. Kevin the jock who Nazz described as dreamy. (Eddy claimed that he was just a stuck-up jerk.) Johnny the happy oddball who talked to his hunk of wood with a crayon face named Plank. Rolf was the weird foreigner who lived with his nana and father on their backyard farm. And finally was the Kankers, the disgusting girls from the trailer park. The only ones who weren't saved...

Mario began recounting his many quests in the Mushroom Kingdom. Such as when he jumped through paintings and portals in Princess Peach's castle, traveled to Dinosaur Land, went to Isle Delfino for his disaster of a vacation, when he went through foreign galaxies, and many other tales which all ended with him saving the princess. He told about his brother, Luigi, the different species in his dimension, the Princess, Bowser and all of his scariness and idiocy, and about all the other aspects of his life.

Tippi envied the others. They had a past, friends, and all sort of nice memories. She had none of those things. Bits of memory she couldn't make out and flashbacks which caused her distress haunted her. Tippi was often angry with herself that she had lost all memory of her past life. Yet, at the same time, she was afraid of what she didn't know. Was her life joyous, or bitter? The pressure caused her great anxiety. She only managed to find strength through her newfound friends.

...

Morning light returned and the heroes began packing up their supplies, while Tippi prepared to lead the way. For about another mile or two, the group forged onward. Surprisingly, luck seemed to be on their side. They ran into none of Count Bleck's minions. As fate would surmise, they seemed to be only a short ways from the **Orange Pure Heart.**

Yet soon after they began, Tippi stopped them. She appeared confused. Unsure of what was going on. Worry clouded the party members. "Like, what is it?" asked Nazz.

"The trail ends here." Tippi replied. "I- I can't sense the pure heart any further. The trail just ends."

"It can't just end!" Eddy shrieked. "The thing isn't in sight."

"I suggest we all calm ourselves!" Double D suggested. "Perhaps it's simply buried beneath the ground."

"No. The energy would be leaking from the ground, then." Tippi explained. "It just... cuts off here. I don't understand."

"Maybe Mr. Reptocilian has the answer!" Ed said, pointing to his left. Just beside Ed, about ten yards or so away, was a dinosaur shaped rock. It wasn't made naturally, much too refined for that. Someone had carved the ancient rock formation, leaving behind an unusual shape.

"What-a is it?" asked Mario.

"Looks like one of those things you'd see at Stonehenge." Nazz commented.

"I see Stonehenge when Sarah pelts me with large bricks," Ed said, smiling stupidly.

"Who cares what it is!" Eddy yelled. "Whatever it is, it's got to be worth somethin'!" Eddy ran off to the strangely carved rock, examining it, trying to place a value on it. Like a keen jeweler, he inspected every inch of the object. Upon completion, he called out, "Double D! Something on here is written in some kind of mumbo-jumbo! Think you can make sense of it?"

"It appears my handiwork is needed!" Double D shouted enthusiastically. "Shall we?" He made an odd little dash towards Eddy, and began to examine the writing for himself. It was written in a strange language, which oddly enough, seemed familiar to Double D. "Strange, haven't we seen these marking before?" His eyes burst open upon realization. "Why! These are the same symbols which were revealed to us when the pure heart was placed in the pillar!"

"Then they're written in the language of the ancients." Tippi clarified. "Merlon taught me how to read this." Tippi flew low towards the writing on the dinosaur's side. She studied the symbols, and translated the gibberish as, "_For thee whom seeketh the Purest Heart, use thy divine heavenly spectrum, to decipher what hast been further scripted for thy hero's eyes only._"

"Oh great," Eddy muttered sarcastically. "A riddle, we're never gonna solve this."

"Actually Eddy, it's quite simple." Double D explained. "You see, 'spectrum' means the vastness at which we percieve things, or in this case, how much we can picture or see with and 'Divine' and 'heavenly' mean indicate a holy or magical gift of sorts. In short, we must use our powers to see the rest of the message."

"Wow, that's so cool Double D!" Nazz complimented. "How'd you solve that?"

"Well," Double D blushed. "Advanced English courses most certainly have sharpened my intuitive skills."

"My intuitive skills disappeared along with my hygiene at age zero!" Ed added.

"Yes well, we know what to do." Double D said awkwardly.

Everyone but Nazz turned on their sight abilities with a quick blink, but what they found disappointed them. The invisible text did appear before them, but it too was in the language of the ancients. "Oh dear, how are we ever to read this?"Double D asked.

"Just describe the symbols to me, and we'll translate slowly," Tippi suggested. So for the next twenty minutes, Double D described each text feature in great detail, being sure not to overlook anything. After what seemed like an endless process, Tippi roughly translated the next half as, "_For thee who can readeth my script, leapeth below the fauna of flames ten times to unlocketh the secrets of thee pure heart._"

"Well, I'm stumped." Nazz said.

"Fauna of o' flames?" Mario asked curiously. "Any-a-one seen o' plant burst-a into-a flames?"

"In this heat, I wouldn't doubt it," Nazz muttered, glancing at the baking sun.

"A perplexing riddle indeed." Tippi noted.

"Well where is this fauna of flames?" asked Eddy sarcastically. "Beside is sure as heck ain't see no tree on fire in the middle of the stupid desert!"

Something inside of Double D clicked. The sunlight beaming against the swaying amber leaves and the mimicry of the natural pigmentations, it did indeed seem to represent flames. Was it so? It must be! Nothing else in the desert could represent fires in such an accurate way. "I know where this plant is!" Double D exclaimed, to the surprise of many. "Follow me comrades, for backtrack we must!"

...

No one was sure where Double D was leading them at first. At first, the group worried Double D was leading them into more danger, but after about five or so miles of backtracking, a distant flame caught the party's attention. The flame seemed to grow larger with every step toward it. However, soon it proved the fire was nothing more than an illusion. It was the exact same tree Double D had been observing not only yesterday.

"Well I'll-a be-a damned," Mario said. "We-a passed our-a gate-o'-way after all."

"It does seem to act like fire from a distance," Tippi commented.

"And you guys were angry at my talented botany skills," Double D smirked.

"I was jealous of your hat!" Ed yelled. "Mayhap I try on your headwear?"

"Not in a million years!" Double D yelled. "There's a better chance I'd spontaneously combust right here, on the spot!"

"Dudes, can we just like, chillax?" Nazz suggested.

"Look, it's not that botany and the disgusting truth under Double D's cap aren't interesting, but I say we just hop under this thing and be on our merry way." Eddy said, more on the forceful side.

"Ooh! Ooh! I can hop, Eddy!" Ed yelled with excitement. He dashed under tree and began to jump up and down, repeatedly bashing his head into the curving trunk. "Jump like a parakeet! Jump like a parakeet! Jump like a parakeet!" Ed chanted, as he probably gave himself a concussion. After ten consecutive leaps, a rumbling appeared, and golden pipe jutted out of the ground. Engraved upon it, was heart.

"Oh no!" Eddy yelled. "I am not relapsing! No way am I going down this sewer!"

"No Eddy! It's o' warp-a pipe." Mario explained. "It's-a not o' free fall. More-a steady, and kinda like-a a ride. It-a slow-a you down, before you-a reach the o' end."

"Ferriswheels are for Ed!" Ed said laughing, as he ran into the pipe and jumped in face first.

"Might as well get this over with," Eddy muttered, climbing into the golden, cylinder shaped tunnel.

Mario stepped back, and did a twisting front flip into the pipe, yelling, "Yahoo!" Tippi flew in after him.

"You can go first Nazz." Double D offered.

"Okay," she replied, cautiously climbing into the pipe. Double D took one last look at his surroundings, and followed in suit.

...

Just as the last hero disappeared into the pipe, a voice from high above laughed. "Hehehe! Is this really the fabled protesters of the Dark Prognosticus?" The air rippled like a rain drop hitting water, and a colorful jester appeared in midair. "Hmm... children and an Italian with their pixls; they appear to constantly bicker and argue. I don't see how these hooligans could be the legendary heroes." Dimentio thought for moment. "Perhaps a test? Yes! If O'Chunks trap doesn't fall as planned. Speaking of which, I should watch that. It will be such a parade of fun, fighting, and blood! Oh joy!" And with that, Dimentio rippled into the air, and disappeared.


	10. Chunks Ahoy!

_This story is really starting to pick up. As of right now, I have 1748 hits on my story. The first five or six chapters easily have over one-hundred each. I'd like to thank Yoshermon, TrueSapphire, and Captain Price for reviewing and everyone else who was generous enough to view this story. Thank you all! On a late note, I noticed that I've been starting to switch from lines separating parts of my story to dot, dot, dots. I think I'll go back and change my lines to dot, dot, dots. Just a preference, I suppose._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Ten: Chunks Ahoy!

**"What was that?"**

**"A patrol!"**

**"Here?"**

**"I did not expect them to come this way!"**

**"What do we do?"**

**"Follow me Timpani; hurry!"**

**"Where are we going?"**

**"I don't know! Just run!"**

* * *

><p>For the kids, it was an unusual and awkward sensation, sliding down the pipe. It felt like a slide at a water park. Though it was made of very steep drops, inclines, and turns, the kids experienced no change of speed or discomfort on their ride through the pipe. The perpetual motion of the ride was actually kind of soothing.<p>

The landing however, was not quite as smooth. The kids, who had no prior experience with warp pipes, were clueless as how to land when they were launched out of the pipe and smashed awkwardly into the sand.

"Oh my aching-" Eddy moaned, sitting up. He never got to finish, as Ed landed on his head not a second later.

"Pardon me, miss," Ed said to Eddy. "Oversized package coming through."

"Gee Ed; I never thought I'd see the day where you'd actually make fun of yourself." Eddy commented sourly.

"That happens every day, Eddy!" Ed laughed.

"Guys, look!" Mario shouted, peering off into the distance. There, just on the horizon, sat a large stone structure. The only possible thing that large to be found in the middle of the desert had to be the ruins and in the ruins would certainly lay a Pure Heart.

"I can sense the pure heart ever so strongly now!" Tippi told the group. "Certainly, it must be in those ruins!"

"Alright, nearly there!" Nazz exclaimed.

"How riveting," Double D commented. "We're so close! It gives me such joy!"

"Yah, yah; let's go!" Eddy said. "Maybe if we hurry, we can make it to Flipside in time for a late lunch at the diner!" Eddy began to dash for the ruins as a deep voice with a heavy irish accent stopped him.

"O', but I'm o'-fraid ye won' be getun' dah treasure 'dat easuhly, me' boy!"

The heroes went wide eyed. They turned their heads wildly and surveyed their landscape. Nowhere in sight was anyone but themselves; no carrier of the mysterious voice. Mario assumed a battle stance, and bravely proclaimed, "Show-a yourself; we're-a armed and o' not-a afraid of-a o' fight!"

"If yeh insist!" The sand about five feet in front of Eddy seemed to explode. The dust and rocks went flying to reveal a large, burly, man-like person. With orange skin, and bald head, and red beard; he almost appeared laughable. But what his facial features didn't account for was made up in strength.

The opponent's huge muscles intimidated the group. His red armored tunic looked as though it could protect him from every attack they could think of. To top it all off, he wore large metallic gloves with huge spikes which would make his blows all the more deadly. "I 'em know-un as duh general of deh ages. Feirce war-yer of Coun' Bleck's armeh! Minyon teh best all minyons! I am, O'Chunks!"

"O'Chunks? What kind of name is that!" Eddy exclaimed. "Ha! It really brings out the fat parts in him! HAHAHA!" As Eddy laughed, O'Chunks grew redfaced. He yelled at the tiny child.

"If yeh so much as disrespek meh of duh coun', I'yull chop yeh inteh haggas and serve yeh at a festival when I'm done wit yah!" Eddy shrank in his spot at O'Chunks reply, not even able to mutter an 'eep.' "Dat's better," said O'Chunks. "Scared and feeble like a... uh... can't quite t'ink of dah word... um..."

"Baby." Double D finished with a blank voice.

"'Ey! I wassa 'bout teh come up wit dat!" O'Chunks tried to explain. "Nex' time yeh just stay quiet or I'll- uh... um..."

"Not-a the smartest bulb-a in o' the box." Mario commented. "Classic minion, first-a to be-a sent, al-a-ways the weakest."

O'Chunks eyes grew narrow. His teeth clenched together with anger. Mario had most certainly struck a nerve. "Fine den! If yeh insis', on makin' deh fight worser for ye self, than who 'em I to stop yeh!" O'Chunks cracks his knuckles, and stopped his feet into the sand. "I-yull squash yeh guys so bad, yer own pappy couldn't recognize yeh."

That last sentence hit the cul-de-sac children hard. Their faces grew red, their hands clenchs, and pain ran through bodies. Now the fight had become personal. "Your terrible count killed our 'pappies'! Not to mention the rest of our family! And now, we will show you the error of your ways through brutal combat!" Double D yelled, loading his bow.

"If you think you're gonna get away with cold blood murder, than you've got another thing coming dude! I'm gonna make you wish you stayed in your little hide out!" Nazz retaliated as her right hand began to glow a shimmering blue.

"Hey Mr. Spray Tan Bodybuilder! Do you hink you can still count to two when you have a knife jammed into your neck? How's about we find out, shall we?" Eddy asked sarcastically, holding three knives between his fingers.

"Ed will crush you!" Ed shouted, weilding his axe above his head, like a psycho-killer. His eyes glinted with rage.

"Yeh really t'ink yah can bes' me in eh battle?" O'Chunks chuckled.

"With an opponent as laughable as you, anything is possible," Tippi replied sarcastically.

"So be it." O'Chunks nodded. "Have at yeh!" And with that, the large burly figure charged at his opponents. He had decent acceleration on his side, but he was sluggish and moved rather lethargically.

Double D fired an arrow at the oncoming man. O'Chunks' armor deflected it with ease and the burly man ran onward towards his prey. Eddy swung a knife at blocky figure, but it too bounced off his armor like a toy dart. O'Chunks sprinted at his rivals with great haste. At the last second, everyone dived out of the way, as the humanoid warrior blasted past them, his own momentum making him slip and fall.

"I ain't gettin' any hits!" Eddy complained.

"It's his armor. It's too powerful!" Double D reasoned. "Our weapons just cannot break through it!"

Noticing the foe was getting back on his feet, Mario called to his friends. "Just aim for his head." O'Chunks was now turning around, facing the party.

"I will do no such thing!" Double D argued.

Now O'Chunks was coming around for a second charge. Mario grew frantic. "Then aim for his legs!" Mario shouted, just as the burly man reached him. Mario dove forward and landed a kick square in O'Chunks gut. Bleck's minion heaved over in pain, as Mario gave him another blow; this time in his jaw.

O'Chunks staggered and fell backwards. Seizing his opportunity, Mario leapt up into the air, and dove down upon his foe; his elbow ready to give a deadly blow. However, O'Chunks recovered quicker than expected. He grabbed the Italian man just as he was inches from delivering yet another attack.

O'Chunks pounced upwards and began to spin, with Mario in hand. He twisted like a tornado, growing faster and faster, until he let the poor hero go, sending Mario flying across the sands, yelling, "AUGH!" O'Chunks took a moment to regain his footing, but it was one second too long however.

A wave of blue energy knocked the orange man backwards, with the force of three grown men. Dazed and confused, he saw the blue energy grab him like hand would, and the aura tossed him around like a ragdoll. O'Chunks slammed face down on the ground; confused and in pain. "Sorry about that, dude!" Nazz called the bulky enemy, in a voice which mimicked a whiny parent. "Does baby want a bottle?"

Noticing his attacker, O'Chunks pounced up and charged at Nazz with a blistering fury. Nazz screamed and ran as fast as she could, but snagged her foot on a lone branch in the sand, and tripped. She stood up and tried to run again, knowing her slip up had made her efforts worthless.

"Stay away from her!" Eddy yelled, aiming for O'Chunks' head with a knife. Eddy was close, but not close enough. He missed his target by a hair, but missed enough that no blood was drawn. "I'm coming Nazz!" Eddy yelled, but it was futile. He charged for the screaming blonde, trying to reach her before O'Chunks.

O'Chunks was closing in on Nazz. He raised his spiked fist, ready to bring down his revenge on the girl. Nazz closed her eyes and hoped by some miracle she'd live through the blow. But moments later, she felt no blow. She turned, and stared in surprise.

Ed had sprung forward at the last second, and broke the oncoming spikes with his axe. "And a valient hero I was in the battle of the oompa loompa vs. the Goonies." Ed said mindlessly. O'Chunks stared at his damaged gloved in awe. Next, he turned to anger. He swung around and stared at the dimwitted Ed.

"You! Yeh ruined me spikes yeh ratarded kindeergartener!" He swung his still intact glove at Ed and sent him flying.

Being Ed of course, he took only slight damage from the blow and the rough landing and happily announced, "Got me! I'm it!"

O'Chunks turned to resume the fight, but suddenly felt a searing pain in his leg. In shock, he looked down to discover a knife lodged in his lower thigh. "Looks good on yah!" Eddy called out with laugh. In his anger, O'Chunks violently grabbed the knife and threw it in no specific direction.

"'Ey! 'Ow's dis for an attack!" O'Chunks proceeded to violent pound on the ground with his muscular fists, venting his rage into the sands. His blows crashed so violently, it felt as though an earthquake was beginning. The party's legs collapsed from under them; the stress of the shaking was too great to bear.

"H-H-Hey T-Tinker-b-bell!" Eddy stuttered as his body shook in the chaos. "M-mind d-d-dusting off th-those pretty w-w-wings and doing s-something!"

Tippi flew towards O'Chunks, and began smashing herself into his face. The orange man stopped thrashing against the ground and began swatting at his face in annoyance. "'Ey! Cut it out, yeh rainbow flee! Dat itches! Blasted bug!" Now, he began to swat violently, attempting to crush the poor pixl like a common mosquito.

"Mario; now! Hurry!" Tippi shouted to her ally, trying to stall the powerful minion as long as she could.

"Hold-a on Tippi! I'm-a comin'!" Mario relayed. Regaining his footing, Mario broke into a sprint, trying to reach O'Chunks before he could do harm to Tippi. Mario stopped about five yards from O'Chunsk and Tippi. He shifted through his backpack as quick as he could, before pulling out a fire flower.

"Tippi! Get-a out-a o' here!" Mario commanded. Tippi took to the sky and flew as far away from O'Chunks as she could. Before O'Chunks has time to wonder what was occurring, Mario through the tulip at the man. The tulip burst into flames upon contact, creating a virtual tornado of fire. O'Chunks yelled and then fell to the ground in silence as the flames dimmed.

For a moment, everyone stared at the burned minion of Count Bleck. Questions buzzed through their heads likes swarms of locust. _Was he dead? Did we win? Is he faking it? Did he know where the pure heart was? Can gravy be eaten with a fork? _The one to break the long pause was Eddy.

"Yes! YES! Yeah baby!" Eddy cheered. "We showed that fat thug with spray tan who was boss!" Eddy skipped to O'Chunks and began to dance on the burned body. "Yes! Yeah! Party! Alright! We did it! We did it!" As he continued to dance, he failed to notice one of O'Chunks' arms was slowly moving. It was so suttle, it was already too late when the sluethy Double D noticed.

"Eddy, look out!" Double D shouted to his companion. But he was one second off, as O'Chunks snatched the small child and put him in a tight headlock, no doubt cutting off the boy's airway. Swiftly, O'Chunks grabbed the knife the thrown and placed it against the flailing boy's neck. Almost in unison, Double D loaded his bow and aimed for O'Chunks. "Let him go or I'll fire!" Double D yelled.

"Den I'll crush 'im as I falls o'ber dead." O'Chunks replied with a smirk. "Sorry, but dis be duh end of yer little fiasco. I'm gonna kill 'im, den I'm gonna kill deh rest 'ub yah. Yeh should see dah looks on yer faces; why it's-"

Nazz was no longer listening to the orange foes ramblings. She had formulated a plan to save Eddy. She concentrated on a spot behind O'Chunks and using Thoreau and began to use her mind to create a hand, made of energy. _"Alright babe, take it to him!" _Thoreau told Nazz. "Don't worry about that." Nazz whispered. "Let's hope he's as dumb as I think."

The aura hand silently floated behind O'Chunks. It hovered just above his shoulder. The rest of the heroes finally took notice to Nazz's power, but remained silent, trusting that Nazz was capable of saving Eddy. _'Here goes something.'_ Nazz thought to herself. The hand lightly tapped on O'Chunks' shoulder. In surprise O'Chunks turned around, only to recieve a blow to the face; dropping Eddy in the process.

O'Chunks double took, wondering what the heck had just happened. He rubbed his face, then opened his eyes to find Ed standing in front him. "Delivery for shmo with lots a payback." Using all his might, Ed slammed his axe the muscular man's chest. His armor saved him any regrettable injuries, but the pain was too much. O'Chunks passed out. "Grabaghly!" He yelled as he fainted.

O'Chunks woke up a while later. To his surprise, he found the heroes crowding around him in a circle. Each one was ready to strike an offensive at a moment's notice. The first thing O'Chunks felt was panic for his life, but that feeling was quickly replaced with disappointment for failing the count. He sighed. "I gib up." He groaned. "Yeh got skill. I'yull gib yeh dat. Who are yeh guys?"

"My name's Eddy! Don't wear it out!" Eddy bragged. "Only cool guy extraordinaire! Super cool, super strong, and leader of my own fan club! I sign autographs on weekends from twelve to four."

"Well, I'm Eddward." Double D said, trying to sound formal. "However, my friends call me Double D, hence the two 'D's in my name. I like reading, construction, helping others, and hygiene."

"I am Ed!" Ed yelled. "Quick and mighty beast destructor of China! Leaping forth on Dragons to gorge the eyes of the unwilling with lots of reality T.V. Yum!"

"It's Nazz, dude," Nazz told O'Chunks. "Oh yah! And I'm gonna make you pay for messing with my hair, destroying my home, and scaring the living snot out of me."

"Mario!" Mario said proudly. "Protector of-a the o' Mushroom Kingdom, and in-a this-a case, protector of o' all-a worlds, from-a you and-a your o' boss."

"Tippi," Tippi said softly. "The guider of the heroes from Pure Heart to Pure Heart."

O'Chunks, stupid as he was, processed all of these names slowly. "Hmm... Peg, Peggy, Double G, Nate, Maria, and Timmy, eh; Odd names, really." The group was dumbstruck by the obvious idiocy of the buff, orange man. Truly, it was all brawn and no brain to him.

"Pardon, but it's _'Double D.'_" Double D corrected.

"It's Mario and Tippi! Not Maria and Timmy!" Tippi shouted.

"Our names are Ed and Eddy!" Eddy yelled with annoyance. "How is it possible to screw that up!"

"Yeh listen close, Maria!" O'Chunks argued. "I'yull be back soon! And I'yull be stronger den eber! Got dat?"

"Really," Eddy asked sarcastically. "How'll you be back if we kill you?"

O'Chunks grinned. He held up his wrist and revealed a green wrist watch. He pressed a button and out popped a holographic image display. The set image was dark, bleak setting which seemed to display a palace of sorts. "I'yull be see-en yah! Chunks AWAY!" He touched the image, and to everyone's surprise, disappeared in a burst of electricity.

Everyone jumped back, avoiding the trailing volts of energy. When he was gone, everyone was dumbfounded. "So? Where'd he go?" Eddy asked in shock. "What happened?"

"Isn't it-a obvious." Mario inquired. "He teleported back-a to-a home base."

"HE- COULD- GO- ALL- THE- WAY!" Ed yelled in response to 'home base.'

"Wrong sport, Ed," Double D corrected.

"Well, now what?" Nazz asked.

"I doubt we'll catch this O'Chunks now." Tippi surmised. "On to the ruins, I suppose."

...

The ruins of Yold Desert were quite impressive. A giant dragon head made of large, carved stone jutted from a ground. In its mouth appeared to be a hall passageway, leading underground. The group was speechless, unsure what to make of the menacing entrance which lay before them. "What's that?" Nazz asked, pointing to a sign beside the ruins. It was written in the script of the ancients.

"To thee whom enter, beware. For thou who are not one of thee heroes shall suffer an undesirable fate, as is your warning." Tippi translated. This comforted no one. With nothing left to stall for, the group took their first steps into the dark unknown.


	11. The Trio of Duos of Dunces

_I am once again, really sorry for the delay of this chapter, which was caused by me having to rewrite chapter two! Please be assured, this will not happen again. I hope this chapter was worth the painful wait, and I hope chapter two is on par with the original draft._

_Also, after a few dark chapters, I'm making this one a bit more lighthearted and silly. Maybe it's the wrong place for this, but it works for me!_

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Eleven: The Trio of Duos of Dunces

**"They've lost our trail. We're safe for now."**

**"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to get a hunting party on us."**

**"It's not your fault. Really..."**

**...**

**"Blumeire?"**

**"Hmm...?"**

**"What's the matter? It is about my appearance and the patrol isn't it?"**

**"No! No. Just... let's talk."**

**"Huh?"**

**"You wanted to talk. Let's talk."**

**"Alright, so, ask me anything."**

**"Okay then. Timpani, why do you follow me?"**

* * *

><p>The air was stale with dust of fifteen-hundred years. The long forgotten ruins were holding the secret which would lead to the <strong>Orange Pure Heart<strong>. "I can sense it." Tippi told the group. "The Pure Heart, it beckons. We are close."

"Then we must trudge onwards!" Double D said.

"Or... you guys can trudge onwards and I'll stay here and rest!" Eddy suggested. The party shot him a threating glare. "Geez! It was just a suggestion!" Eddy complained.

The heroes walked down the long corridor to find a small wooden door. Mario pushed back the wood, to find three long dark passages, and a large metal door. Mario walked closer to the large metal door. On it, three key holes, each of a different size and shape. Mario huffed. "I-a think-a its o' obvious what-a we have to-a do."

Eddy, picking his ear and barely looking, responded, "What?"

"We're-a splitting up." Mario answered.

"NO!" Eddy retorted. "Bad idea! I watch thrillers! The handsome guy with a ton of babes always dies first!"

"You're-a neither, so you'll-a be o' fine." Mario reassured him. Eddy groaned and muttered something which included Mario's name and at least one foul word.

"Since-a Ed's been-a so good, we'll let him pick-a who he wants to-a go with." Mario stated. "Ed, who-a do you want-a to-a go with?" Mario asked.

Ed struck an odd thinking position, tapping his chin like a kettle drum. Then, he exclaimed. "Euphoria!" He then held a rock over his head. "It is a light bulb, and I have made a decision!" Ed ran over to Double D and picked him up over his head. "I want Double D! Can I? Can I? CAN I! I love him, and feed him, and change his litter box, and brush his encyclopedias, and wash his hat, and give him lots of math homework, and-"

"He's yours, Ed." Mario replied, giggling at how Ed treated Double D as a sort of pet.

"Yippee, kai-yay!" Ed exclaimed happily, pulling Double D into a tight bear-hug.

"Please..." Double D whispered, his voice constrained by Ed's grip. "Don't leave me with him..."

"Well-a bye, you o' two!" Mario replied cheerily, waving in a hasty manner.

"Let's go this way Double D!" Ed yelled excitedly. He grabbed Double D's hat and began to pull the Ed down a random hallway, into the darkness. Double D's shouts of protest echoed through the claustrophobic chambers, but grew quiet, dimmed, and faded.

Once Mario was sure they were out of hearing range, he breathed a heavy sigh. "Oh! Thank-a goodness! I don't-a have-ta to-a go with Ed."

"Wait a sec, dude! You mean you set that up just so you wouldn't have to go with Ed?" Nazz asked suspiciously.

"That-a would be o' correct." Mario answered.

"Clever one, dude." Nazz replied casually. "Gotta give yah props for that; do feel bad for Double D though."

"Ah, he's fine!" Eddy snapped, changing the subject. "So, who does big ol' Eddy here get to go with."

"Dibs on Mario!" Tippi shouted. Everyone gave Tippi a confused stare. Though her face was hard to see, it was evident the flying pixl was probably blushing under her rainbow exterior. "W- well... I just feel me and Mario haven't... bonded! YES; bonded enough! So I think we should probably go together."

Nazz wasn't convinced. "But why did you sound so-"

"Who cares?" Eddy shreiked with happiness. "That means we'll get to spend some quality time searching for our key, together..." Eddy said romantically, leaning against Nazz like a cool lover.

"Oh brother," Nazz moaned. She shoved Eddy off him and pointed towards the middle tunnel. "We're takin' that one. Keep up if yah feel like it." She strutted down the tunnel; her feet making unnatural sounds on the scratchy brick texture.

Eddy hastened in pursuit of his female companion as she walked further into the darkness. "Wait, babe! Was it something I said?" He called out to her.

Mario and Tippi were left alone in the darkness of the rubble. Mario turned to Tippi and without speaking, pointed towards the tunnel to the right. Tippi awkwardly nodded and she flew after Mario as they paved their way into the unknown of the Yold Ruins.

...

"Ed! Please put me down!" Double D shouted. After about fifteen minutes of repeating the same phrase, Ed finally dropped the poor child, none too gently, onto the floor.

"Sorry Double D!" Ed replied sheepishly.

"Yes, well, shall we proceed with finding the said key?" Double D suggested.

"But where is it." Ed asked.

"We have to find it." Double D answered.

"Ooh! Look! A helmet!" Ed shouted, pointing towards a blue dome looking struction on the floor. It was very reflective and looked like a strange form of metal, though it was hard to tell as the only source of light was the sparce torches which hung on the walls. Then, the unexpected.

"GOOD LORD! THE THING MOVED!" Double D blurted out. The blue dome scurried across the floor making tiny little scratching sound as it moved. The strange animal then proceeded to climb onto the wall. Ed ran after it like and excited dog and pried it from its place.

"Look, Double D! A mini-koopa." Ed said excitedly. He held the turtle creatures tiny up to Double D's face. The creature was mostly covered by its shell, but tiny yellows legs, a stubby tail, and a tiny head with piercing red eyes could be seen.

Double D couldn't stand being within three feet of the critter. "Ed! Get this digusting vermin away from my personal bubble!" He swatted at the turtle which went flying down the tunnel. The poor turtle landed on its shell, which shattered on impact. The creature behind the shell itself was very pathetic, nothing more than a tiny yellow lizard. Noticing its shell was gone; the former turtle blushed, and scampered off down the tunnel.

"Modesty is the first step to honesty." Ed stated.

"I didn't know shells could act like clothes." Double D mused. "Yet another triviality of this world." Before he could speak more, he noticed more of the scratchy sound which the first turtle had made when moving. Double D looked at the ceiling, the source point of the sound. Before he could run or do anything, Double D felt the blue shelled beast drop onto his face and grip it with his tiny claws.

"Oh good lord, it's latched onto my face!" Double D shrieked in agony as he ran like mad, trying to rip the creature off his body.

"Wait Double D!" Ed called out. "I wanna helmet too!"

...

"Friday?"

"No."

"Saturday?"

"No."

"Sunday?"

"No."

"Tuesday?"

"Yah skipped Monday." Nazz reminded Eddy.

"Are yah good then?" Eddy asked.

"No." Nazz said flatly. "Now stop asking. The answer's not gonna change cause yah keep asking."

"Nazz, wait-"

"I said no!" Nazz snapped interrupting Eddy. "Can you get that through you head? Please."

"But-" Eddy tried to say

"I said-" Nazz retorted, still walking forwards.

"Nazz stop!" Eddy proceeded to tackle Nazz to the ground just as three rotating saw jutted from the floor, right in front of the poor girls face. Had she kept walking, Eddy would be left with blonde hair and bologne. The saws swayed left and right for about a minute, then retracted back into the floor.

Eddy lifted himself off Nazz then said, "Uh... sorry about tackling you. Just uh... saw that trap with my uh... vision and I didn't quite get to warn-"

"No, no. It's my fault." Nazz replied softly. "Should have listened to you when yah started sounded worried and... stuff..." The two blushed, then indirectly looked at each other. "We should, yah know... Probably keep going."

"Yah. Uh-huh..." Eddy replied.

The two strutted down the hall casually for a bit, but it wasn't long before Eddy once again asked about a date. "So, Wednesday work for you?"

_"Want me to nail him?" _Thoreau questioned Nazz.

"No, no. It's cool." Nazz whispered. "I could do that any time I wanted."

...

Though it was hard to see, it was clear the faded carving in the dim lit room represented some kind of huge beast. It seemed to resemble a lizard, or a snake. Whatever it was, it could mean nothing good and gave Mario and Tippi butterflies thinking about what the creature could be. "Disturbing," Tippi said. "Do you think we'll have to face a creature like that?"

"I don't-a know." Mario said uncertainly. "May-a-be the creature has-a died o' already."

"And maybe the Tribe of Ancients will start slacking off." Tippi said sarcastically. "Speaking of the Ancients, why did they design such a terrible place. Skull torches," she indicated by flying near one. "Signs written of death, traps for killing; this place just seems to scream 'evil.'"

"Probably o' made that-a way to-a keep out un-a-wanted visitors." Mario guessed.

"Maybe..." Tippi said, unsure what to think. _'Funny how he always tries to takes things in a positive perspective.' _Tippi thought. _'So brave and selfless; he cherishes keeping people safe. He almost reminds me of... of... of-"_

"Hoho," Mario spoke, snapping Tippi from her thoughts. "What-a have o' we here." He chimed, staring at a blank wall. Tippi used her pixl senses and discovered the wall had brick with a strange sort of aura coming from it. To Mario, the brick looked neon and discolored among the brown and sandy bricks.

Mario reached into his backpack and dug around until he finally found the pocketknife he got at Howzits. He pressed the blade against the side of the strange brick and began scraping away the cement that bound it to the wall. After much force, he finally cut away enough mortar to pull out the brick.

The brick itself was hollow, with a small grey key on the inside. Mario shook the key out, letting it fall into his hand. "That-a was-a too easy."

"Let's hope everyone else has the same luck." Tippi said.

...

"Oh good lord, its claws feel like tacks, tacks!" Double D yelled as he continued running and screaming down the dark passages of the Yold Ruins.

"Double D! I want to borrow your helmet." Ed cried after him as he chased after his bolting friend.

"Pardon my French, but it hurts like a son of a-" BAM! Not noticing the turn, Double D smashed face first into the wall at the sharp turn. With the poor creatures shell shattered, the tiny impish creature hopped off Double D's face and scurried away from the cowering Ed. "I hope those creatures aren't capable of spreading rabies," Double D murmured, rubbing his face.

"Wait up Double D!" Ed called. He paraded toward his friend and stopped by his side. "What's the matter, Double D? Is your tongue in a wrestling match with the cat?" Ed asked, concerned about Double D.

"Ugh! That creature was covered in dirt!" Double D moaned, wiping his face off. "Filthy, filthy, filthy... Let's just find the key and get out of this disgusting place."

"Allow me!" Ed said, picking up the scrawny boy and heaving him onto his shoulders. "I learned this trick from Eddy."

"And up here, it's impossible to catch whiff of your odor." Double D remarked. "Why thank you Ed. This is very generous of you."

"Giddy-up horsey!" Ed cheered. He began to run down the corridors like a champion racehorse. Unfortunately, due to his tall height, and narrow size of the halls, Double's head was smashing into the low lying stone support beams which lay across the ceiling being spaced about three feet apart.

"Ow- Ooh- Ow- Geez- Ed- Will- You- Stop- Ouch- OW!" Double D's bumpy speech continued as Ed refusal to listen or let go caused Double D to receive a concussion all the way down the hall.

"This flight is due to expect turbulence! Please fasten your seat belts, ladies." Ed advised, hearing bumping sound from above him.

...

"Where's Tinkerbell when yah need her?" Eddy muttered, trying to decipher the runes and writing upon the plaque in front of him. "I can't read heads or tales of this junk."

Just inches from Eddy's face lay the key. Yet it was stuck behind solid glass infused with some other kind of gem; crystal maybe. Breaking the case open wasn't an option. Below the case were three levers. Which one opened the case, they did not know, and neither Nazz nor Eddy touched one, for fear of setting off any farther traps. To the side of the traps, were the scriptures which Eddy was busy staring at.

"It's probably some kind of riddle." Nazz surmised. "Don't worry, dude. I can just-"

"I don't need to hear anything of what Tinkerbell has to say. Just watch babe!" Eddy pointed towards the runes. "See this." He indicated by pointing at the symbol which looked a wavey line, which a dotted mark above it and slash near the corner. "This shows a wave with a sun over it, which represents the open ocean." Eddy explained, trying to sound logical.

"Eddy, all I need to do is-" Nazz was once again cut off by Eddy.

"That means, the correct switch is blue. Seeing as how all the switches are the same color though, it means we need to look for the sun." He walked over to the levers. "The left lever over here has a funny looking cut in it, which relates to the cut in the sign thingy over there, which means we gotta press this lever." Eddy pulled the switch carelessly.

A great rumbling sound filled the room. "You idiot! run!" Nazz shouted. Eddy and Nazz turned to run for the doors, but steel bars closed over the doors before they could escape. Deadly lasers made simply using magnified torch light shot across the room, freezing the two in their spots. Sand began leaking through cracks in the room, which would most certainly bring the two children to their doom.

"You could've just let me ask Thoreau to read the script, yah moron!" Nazz shouted furiously as Eddy. "Even if he was unable to, wouldn't it have would've just made more sense to get Tippi instead of listening to your ego!"

"Oh yah..." Eddy replied, feeling stupid.

"Whelp; now we're gonna die." Nazz moaned. "Thanks Eddy."

_"Want me to punch him now?"_ Thoreau asked.

"No." Nazz grunted. "Don't give him the satisfaction."

"Don't worry Nazz! I'll save us!" Eddy reached into his bag and yanked out a travel sized mirror. "What would I do without you?" He asked the mirror. "Now it's time to rock! I'll put my mirror in the path of a laser and use it to disable the security systems." Eddy put the mirror in the path of the nearest laser, but unfortunately only managed to burn Nazz's arm.

"Heh..." Eddy murmured. "Whoops..."

"Okay. New plan." Nazz said. She created a hand using Thoreau's magic, and fastened its grip around another one of the levers. She willed it to pull, and the traps deactivated themselves simultaneously making the glass lift from the key. Nazz walked over, grabbed the key, and shoved it in her pocket. "Now let's go." Nazz ordered.

Nazz stomped out of the room, furious at how stupid Eddy had acted. Eddy, frustrated at how he probably just turned Nazz away from him forever, leaned back and berated himself. "Smooth move. Now she's gonna hop all over Kevin when we find him." Eddy felt himself sliding backwards. He turned around, realizing he'd been leaning on the last lever.

Above him, sections of the wall slid open, letting loose storms of circular thomps he'd slept through on the mountain. "Mommy..." Eddy whispered. And with that, he was off racing for the door. "WAIT! NAZZ WAIT UP!" He called, fleeing the room, running off to his companion.

...

"Youch- Ooh- Ow- Oh- ED STOP!" Double D yelled with all his might. Finally, the large lug noticed Double D's call and dropped the child with no second thoughts. Double D sat up painfully, wiping his bloody nose and cuts with a rag from his bag. When he'd cleaned his face off, he began lecturing Ed.

"Ed! We've been trailing around these tunnels for over an hour, and all I've seen is the front end brown bricks. Ed, I don't believe there is a key in this section of the ruins. Perhaps we should go back and-" Double D stopped when noticed Ed scratching the side of his head, with a peculiar grey object. "Ed, what is that."

"Oh this," Ed replied, pointed the object he was using to scratch his head. "It's a head scratcher I found near the door of the ruins. Pretty neat, huh?"

"We had the key this whole time!" Double D shouted. "Why of all the-" Double D took a deep breath and calmed down. "Oh what do I care? I was paired with Ed. It was bound to happen anyway." Double D began marching back to center of Yold Ruins, despairing that all his pain was for nothing.

"Would you like to burrow it, Double D?" Ed asked.

...

Everyone soon found their way back to the entrance, where the door with the three locks was. Mario and Tippi were relieved to get back, but guessing by the evil eyes Nazz and Double D were casting, as well as the grim face Eddy was giving off; they guessed the others had a less than happy time hunting for their keys.

"So uh... shall-a we-a go and-a find o' us a Pure-a Heart?" Mario suggested.

"That works for me." Nazz said with hints of anxiety in her voice.

"Yes please, before I get an ulcer." Double D said.

"You can burrow my ulcer, Double D." Ed replied.

Mario stuck the three keys into each of the locks. He twisted them, and the door slowly creaked open. Behind the door, was nothing but an empty room with a ladder leading up to a hatch which leaked out bright light. The surface! Everyone paraded into the room and began the climb out of the darkness and hopefully to the next Pure Heart.

* * *

><p><em>Not my best chapter, but yah know what! It's finished! Cut, print, let's boogy!<em>


	12. Grave of the Sky Warrior

**DO TO LOTS OF PLOT HOLES AND ERRORS, THIS CHAPTER HAD RECEIVED A MAJOR TUNE UP!**

_I've changed my pen name from snowwhistle to Sound of Snow. This is symbolic of my changing interests from Warriors to Ed, Edd n Eddy. Sorry if this makes it confusing. I know it's a weird reason to change names, but I find it appropriate for the situation. Aside from that, Chapter 6 had gone through major rehab with grammar edits and stuff. Also, I'm going to go back and fix any other grammar mistakes as soon as I can. Finally, I am going on vacation soon and won't be back for two and a half weeks. Updates will not be back until late July._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Twelve: Grave of the Sky Warrior

**"You're royalty?"**

**"Being son of the head of the tribe, well I guess you could call that somewhat royalty."**

**"Hehehe! I'm talking to a Prince."**

**"Well what about you?"**

**"Me…"**

**"Oh. I'm just a common girl."**

**"Just?"**

**"Yep, just a common girl."**

**"I may not know you well, but I know you enough to know that you're no ordinary girl."**

* * *

><p>The lid was detailed with serpent like creature. Mario grimaced. It was the third time he'd seen depictions of that creature in Yold Ruins. Mario was desperately hoping that it held no significance. His hope was fading. Sighing, Mario shoved the metal door off the top of the ceiling and climbed into the afternoon sun.<p>

Light poured upon the heroes, sand swept their faces, and heat drenched their skin. At last, they'd reached the outside of the ruins. They scanned the deserts from which they entered, only to find it baron and empty.

"Gee, anticlimactic much?" Eddy asked rhetorically.

"It has to be here!" Tippi insisted. "I can feel its presence. It's got to be here!"

"Maybe it's buried?" Nazz suggested.

"We don't have time for that!" Eddy yammered.

"Oh drat, my excavation tools were destroyed along with Earth." Double D moaned. Everyone turned around and looked at Double D with a disappointed glare. "Oh come on people! It was completely out of context from our parents!" Double D defended himself.

"For shame, Double D," Ed jeered. "Even I wouldn't curse out the misfortunate in the time of hilariously ironic havoc."

Double D's face turned red. "But I wasn't-"

"We'll-a deal with-a this o' later!" Mario interrupted. "Right o' now we-a have-a to-"

**"UNIDENTIFIED LIFEFORMS DETECTED."** A robot voice rang out.

"What was that?" Nazz asked.

"Please tell me that wasn't another one of Count Bleck's minions." Double D sighed.

"It wasn't another one of Count Bleck's minions." Ed said, taking Double D seriously.

**"PROCESSING ALPHA DELTA DEFENSE MODE THREE POINT SEVEN TWO SIX, RESPONDING TO IMMINENT THREAT."** The voice continued.

The sand around Eddy began to rise in clouds, as though it was being blown upwards by a mysterious force. Eddy looked down at his feet. "This is just my luck, isn't it?" He groaned, seeing the irony in his situation.

The sand seemed to explode. Dust and dirt flew askew and a dark, shady figure rose from the dunes. Eddy flew twelve feet and landed with a violent crash. His eyes bugged out and he gritted his teeth. Clutching his thigh, he quietly moaned. The sands were turning a scary shade of rose.

"Eddy! He's hurt!" Double D shrieked. Double D rushed to his friend's side. He took one glance at Eddy's gash and determined it was serious. "Help, we require medical assistance!" Double D cried.

No one heard him though. All anyone could focus on was the tiny shifting line which curled in intricate spirals in the sky. The line made a sharp turn, and plummeted down, aimed towards the party, homing in at maximum velocity.

"Oh… my… god…" Tippi muttered.

"Let's-a go over-a where o' Eddy is." Mario suggested.

"Is that a Soviet Missile?" Ed asked. "Cause in one comic book of mine-"

"Run, you-a fool!" Mario shouted. The group screamed and ran at top speeds away from the hurtling object. Watching it crash to the ground, the group fell to the ground and covered their heads.

A windstorm rocked the sands upon impact, scattering the particles far and wide, making one's vision impaired to the point of blindness. Once the dust had settled, the team opened their eyes to behold a beast of strange wonders.

Towering nearly fifty football fields long, being as wide as the Empire State building, and lengthening itself up to tower over its visitors; the beast was sight to behold. The dragon like monster was covered in rosy purple scales and its stomach was a peachy white. Tiny wings aligned its long snake like body. A large horn like appendage jutted from its head and menacing teeth glared at them. Yet oddest of all, the beast had soulless white eyes with a blue pupil and its skin seemed too reflective to be a mere scale.

**"TRESSPASSERS ON LEVEL THREE DASH ONE. SCANNING FOR LOGICAL CONCLUSIONS."** The creature said in a monotone roar. Its pupil twirled like an hourglass on a search engine. **"CONCLUSION FOUND, THEFT OF PURE HEART IN PROGRESS. SURRENDER AND LEAVE NOW IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO SUBJECT TO A HORRIBLE FATE."**

The creature flinched, as though trying to perform a gasp. **"WAIT A MOMENT. LEVEL FIVE MUSTACE DETECTED. OVERLY SANTIZED HAT DETECTED. LEVEL EIGHTEEN POTENCY STENCH DETECTED. TWENTY GRAM COLLECTION OF COINS AND SWEETS DETECTED." **The beast paused, as if trying to process what it had learned. **"PLEASE HALT. I MUST PROCESS THIS NEWLY AQUIRED INFORMATION."**

The creature's pupil spun round and around in its non-blinking eye. It stayed in this state for several minutes. The poor heroes below could only sit in terror and hope this guardian recognized them as the prophesized ones. At long last, the dragon spoke once more. **"HEROES DETECTED. MARIO, ED, EDDWARD, EDDY, AND CO. FORGIVE ME HEROES. MY LOGIC IS FLAWED."**

"Yah think…" Eddy remarked weakly.

**"FORGIVE ME TINY ONE. I SHALL ASSIST." **The dragon opened its mouth and released a blue beam which shot at Eddy's leg. Eddy's thigh began self regenerating, fixing damaged cells and creating new ones to replace the dead. Finally, all that was left of Eddy's wound was a large blue sore. **"KEEP OFF THAT LEG. THE WOUND IS SUBJECT TO REOPEN IF YOU ARE NOT CAREFUL FOR THE NEXT FORTY-EIGHT HOURS."**

"Don't think I'm still not pissed about this." Eddy warned the dragon.

"Dude, that was incredible." Nazz gasped. "Like, what are you?"

**"I AM FRACKTAIL, A ROBOTIC DRAGON WHO SERVES AS ETERNAL GUARDIAN AT THIS SHRINE. THE TRIBE OF ANCIENTS CREATED ME AS TO PROTECT THE PURE HEART FROM INVADERS." **Fracktail explained.

Double D was amazed. "Ingenious…" Double D said in awe. "A self controlling computer, capable of free thinking, while programmed as such to have a set objective. Why, it even has extended capabilities with healing and protection."

**"THANK YOU, SKINNY ONE. I AM AMUSED. BUT DEEPER MATTERS PRESS." **Fracktail appeared to grow stern. **"HEROES, YOU ARE LATE. FIFTEEN-HUNDRED YEARS HAVE PAST AND THE VOID HAS OPENED." **Fracktail tilted his head and stared at the void.** "YOU MUST HURRY. SOON THE ENDS OF ALL WORLDS WILL REACH US IF YOU DO NOT HURRY. PLEASE CONTINUE; THE PURE HEART RESTS IN A SECRET CHAMBER BENEATH ME." **Fracktail slid aside to reveal a hidden door on the ground beneath his metallic stomach.

"Thank you Fracktail." Tippi replied curtly. "Come along gang. We must forge onward to the Pure Heart."

"Hehehe!" A menacing giggled echoed through wind. "But it won't be that easy. No, no, no. I'm afraid your little escapade ends here." The air beside Fracktail's head began to ripple, such as water upon splashing does. The air inverted and out popped Count Bleck's giddy jester.

His black and white face, dark purple and black attire, and fool's cap managed to appear silly, yet at the same time threatening. He bowed in midair and addressed himself. "Pleased to meet and pleased to greet." The man said. "I am known as the master of dimensions, psychic of sorts, pleaser of crowds, and a loyal servant of Count Bleck. I am… Dimentio."

"So, the Count-a is-a scared his-a little o' plan won't-a pan out, so he-a sent you?" Mario asked.

"I know you." Tippi said in a quiet voice. "You're that-"

"Ha! You're placing your trust to find Pure Hearts in bumbling fairies?" Dimentio laughed, taking note of Tippi. "Pathetic as it may be, I shall have to dispose her too I suppose, as to destroy all those capable of finding them."

"Tell me we're not fighting this woos." Eddy groaned. "A clown, seriously? Is this really the best your Englishman boss has to offer?"

"Oh, but I'm afraid I'm on a very tight schedule; can't fight you today, unfortunate as it may be." Dimentio said, adding a mocking sort of fake sadness to his voice. "However, I'm one to be a fair sport, so I will set you up with a consolation of sorts."

"Oh boy," Ed replied excitedly. "So what do I win? I hope it's a packet of minced meat jerky with gravy pudding."

"Why, a pleasant snack." Dimentio told the stinky child. He snapped his fingers, and without warning, Fracktail began to blow sparks, raining electricity upon the party. "Yes, a snack for him I should say, because you all are the snack. This brute here shall enjoy snacking on you. Ciao!" And with that, Dimentio vanished, leaving the team with a sparking guardian.

"So do I get the snack now or later?" Ed asked the air around him.

"Did he not over-explain himself clearly enough?" Eddy asked Ed rhetorically.

"What did he do to that robo-dragon guy?" Nazz asked nervously.

Fracktail froze, then began screaming. **"ERROR! I AM ERROR! UNKNOWN DATA CHAGNES BEING MADE! MUST FIND SOURCE VIRUS! SOURCE VIRUS NOT FOUND! MUST REBOOT SYSTEM! SYSTEM CANNOT REBOOT! MUST CONSULT OPERATING SOFTWARE! OPERATING SOFTWARE NOT FOUND! WAY TO GO MORON! UNSPECIFIED PROGRAM DOWNLOADING! MUST CANCEL DOWNLOAD! CANCELATION HAS FAILED! NEW OBJECTIVE INSTALLED! CONTROL- ALT- DELETE!"**

Fracktail launched himself into the air and began to glide slowly in circles around the Eds and co. like a menacing shark. Tippi still sensed the Pure Heart's presence. It was only a hundred or so yards away beneath that hatch. Maybe, if they ran before Fracktail could attack, they could just make it. "Run for the hatch!" Tippi screamed.

Seeing as how Eddy could only limp, Mario grabbed the tiny Ed and hoisted him onto his back. The party made a mad dash to safety, desperately trying to get into the hole before Fracktail could come around for an attack.

The robot was quick to notice, however. He swooped down, his mouth wide, and sailed straight for the sprinting heroes. The heroes saw the oncoming attack, stopped, and barrel rolled to the side to avoid becoming lunch. The group held their breath in fear as Fracktail's body swooped right before their faces.

The confused guardian soared back upwards for another attack. Tippi knew immediately their situation was grim. "He's too quick." She pointed out. "Fracktail never let us get anywhere near the door."

"So what do we do now?" Nazz asked.

"Isn't it-a obvious?" Mario asked everyone. "We're-a going to-a have-a to fight it."

"Okay, I can find four flaws in that plan." Eddy pointed out. "One, it's a huge freaking dragon. Two, it's up in the sky. Three, we're down on the ground. And four… it's a giant freaking dragon!"

"I have-a an idea." Mario explained. "Eddy, since-a your o' cripple, your-a gonna have-a to stick close-a to me. So here's-a what-a we do-"

…

Fracktail scanned the ground below from high in the sky. No longer did he have free will. A strange surge of evil viruses had flooded his body. Now his only urge was to kill the chosen ones who only minutes ago he was trying to help.

The humans and pixl below huddled up into a group. Fracktail couldn't read their lips from this height, but he could easily tell they were forming some kind of plan. At a moment's notice, the party dispersed and they all took off running in separate directions.

Fracktail quickly lost interest in most of group, except for the one called Mario and tiny Ed who was stuck being carried by the red man. They were making a break for the hatch that led to the Pure Heart. **_'INITIATIVE SHIFTING, FOCUS ATTACK POWER ON THE ONE'S KNOWN AS MARIO AND EDDY.'_**

Fracktail dove down towards his prey. Somewhere in the back of his CPU, he heard his former self telling him to stop this insolence and let them pass, yet another laughing voice soon invaded his thoughts.

"Silly Fracktail," the voice of Dimentio chimed. "Don't stop now. You're so close to destroying two of those nasty heroes."

…

"This is never going to work!" Eddy yelled at Mario.

"Shut-a up!" Mario commanded. "Or I'll-a drop you and let-a Fracktail eat-a you like-a pasta!" In the corner of his eye, Mario saw Fracktail closing in. He skidded to a halt and faced the oncoming foe.

"Hey Mr. Racist, what're you doing?" Eddy asked nervously. Mario continued to stare the approaching metal beast in its white glass eyes.

"You said we were gonna make a break for the chamber. Not suicide!" Eddy reminded Mario. Mario still did not move.

"Mario! I'd be happy if you moved!" Eddy shouted. The robot opened its mouth and began to skim across the sand. "I'm too handsome to die before thirty! Ah!"

Just as Fracktail was feet from swallowing the duo, Mario leapt into the air performing an amazing vertical flip, landing smoothly on the flying beast's back. "Get on!" Mario shouted to his team as the beast began to lift up from the dunes.

Everyone hopped onto Fracktail's back as it began to take to the skies. Now it was all just a matter of shutting down the infernal machine.

…

Double D peered off the edge of Fracktail's back. They were most certainly at least a mile off the ground. Instant death would definitely result from a fall of this height. Double D backed away and stared at Fracktail's head which kept its gaze focused on the ground.

"I don't get it." Double D said. "Why isn't he trying to shake us off?"

"He doesn't know we're here." Tippi explained. "He's still trying to find us on the ground. We'll have to take him out fast while we still have surprise on our side."

"Take him out?" Double D asked, shocked by Tippi's suggestion. "He's on our side!"

"Was on our side," Eddy reminded him. "That Dimensionia guy zapped him into last Tuesday."

"And he forgot to give me my gravy cakes," Ed pointed out. "Yum…"

"We could convert him back to our side once more." Double D mused. "I'll just fix the programming bugs with him. First I'll need to get laptop, some virus and spam deletion software, and some-"

"Dude, get real." Nazz voiced. "He'd want us to do this Double D. We don't really have a lot of options right now."

"I haven't killed a soul yet, and I won't start now!" Double D protested.

"It's-a either o' him, or-a googol-o'-plex that-a number of o' people in-a countless other-a worlds." Mario reminded Double D.

"I got the axe ready to whacks Fracks!" Ed called, holding his weapon above his head.

"Fine," Double D retorted. "But I refuse to take part in this. Do what you will to him. I will not touch a circuit on Fracktail's hard drive." Double D crossed his arms and sat down in protest on the robotic man.

"Suit yourself." Eddy said to Double D. The group then went to work, prying off plate by plate of Fracktail, hoping to get to his inner mechanisms and shut him off.

…

For five minutes, Fracktail had scanned the ground. No longer were the heroes in sight. A thermal scan comfirmed they were no longer a ground level within fifteen miles of the hatch. Fracktail began running through possible scenarios within his internal memory banks. Before he reached the answer though, a level three code error responded, saying small sections of area were malfunctioning along his midback…

…

"Smash puppy dog! Smash!" Ed called as he swung his axe into another portion of the mechanisms wiring. "I am a woodpecker with a bucket of metal and an axe to finish the job." Ed then swung into axe once again into Fracktail's plating.

"Just-a focus on-a short-o'-circuiting him." Mario told Ed.

Then out of nowhere, a cold metallic voice bellowed, **"PRIORITY C THREE THIRTEEN! SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN BREACHED! MUST STOP INVADING PARASITES! RESPONDING WITH PROGRAM EXE DOT ARMY FORCE; RELEASING FRACKLES!"**

Before anyone had time to ask was a frackle was; tiny metal ducks began crawling from between Fracktail's plates. They were tiny pink creature which moved with wheels, had large glass eyes, and began latching onto the heroes, trying to weigh them off Fracktail.

"Ah! These duck guys aren't letting go!" Nazz shouted, trying to shake off the intruders who were biting down on her body.

"Aw, look at the chickens." Ed cooed, holding three of robotic beings in his arms like puppies. "Look Eddy, robot chickens!"

"Ed you idiot, Do something!" Eddy called, swiping at the frackles like a professional boxer in the ring.

"But Eddy; the chickens…!" Ed whined.

"Forget him!" Mario called. He grabbed one the pink menaces which had latched onto his arm and threw it off him. "We-a gotta keep-a damaging his o' circuitry!"

"How," Tippi asked, latching onto Mario's cap as to not be sucked away by the prevailing winds. "We can't get under his plating anymore. That's where these security droids are coming from."

"He's gotta have some weakness." Nazz inferred.

"Why can't he be like O'Chunks and suck?" Eddy complained. In his frustration, Eddy threw one of his knives at Fracktail's head. As if my sheer luck, it managed to hit the antenna on his head, causing Fracktail and the frackles to sit and go into a static like state, before returning to normal seconds later.

"That's-a it!" Mario exclaimed. "His-a antenna! That's-a his o' weakness."

"How're we supposed to hit that?" Nazz asked, ripping a frackle out of her hair.

"You'll have to get closer!" Double D answered, still refusing to fight.

"Then closer we'll have to g-" Tippi said, but was cut off by another one of the large metal dragons program commands.

**"TARGETS FOUND! TARGETS ARE STILL PLENTIFUL AND HAVE NOT BEEN NUETRALIZED!" **Fracktail roared, obviously referring to the two heroes. **"PROCEEDING WITH EVASIVE MANUEVERS TO DISLODGE VIRUS THREAT!"**

Mario eyes widened at the words 'evasive maneuvers.' "This is-a very, very o' bad."

"What?" Eddy asked. "What does that meeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaa…?"

Fracktail swooped into huge dip, diving down into a twisting spiral. He swerved like bird and twisted like a word in midair, trying to rid himself of the foul heroes who clung to his metal plates.

Ed had managed to keep hold of Fracktail by downing his axe into the dragon's armor. Mario and Nazz each grasped one of his legs while Tippi hid in Ed's coat. Eddy hung by two knives, lodged in the android's plates. Double D had no holds and fell, only to be caught by Ed. "Gotcha Double D." Ed said, placing the sockheaded boy into his overstuffed coat pocket.

"Double D," Mario called to his teammate. "You-a have to-a shoot his o' antenna!"

"What?" Double D shouted. "I will not, one of you do it!"

"It-a has to-a be-a you," Mario replied. "You're-a the-a only one with-a free arms."

"I just can't!" Double D said, trying to maintain his innocence.

"Double D please!" Eddy shouted. "I don't wanna die!" Double D turned towards his friends. They all looked scared out of their minds. Double D sucked in air, keeping his breathing steady. He looked at Fracktail like an animal at a pound. He closed his eyes, firmly telling himself that the creature was just a robot, yet it didn't feel that way to him.

How could he do this? That was living, breathing- okay maybe neither of those applied to Fracktail, but he did have feelings, and emotions, and put his life on the line for heroes. That was human enough to count as being alive in Double D's opinion.

Double D felt a large jolt, swishing to the side in Ed's overstuffed pocket. He looked towards his friends again. Their grips were failing, and soon, it'd be too late.

_'I can't do this.' _Double D thought to himself. He took one last glance at his friends and Fracktail then thought to himself, _'I'm sorry.' _He reached into his backpack and retrieved his quiver. He grabbed his last seven bow and arrows. Double D's hands quivered and his friends trembled. His friends stared in shocked as he held them off the side of the beast, barely gripping their saving grave weapons. Double D's friends began shouting at him, trying to coax him from dropping his weapons.

"I'm sorry." Double D said. Everyone was convinced he was about to attempt suicide, taking them with him. They stared, waiting for Double D to make the last movement which would end their lives, but then the unexpected happened. Double D loaded his first arrow, and pointed at Fracktail's head. Again he repeated, "I'm sorry." The group sighed. He was referring to Fracktail.

_'Better make these count.' _Double D sighed.

Double D breathed slowly, trying to be sure his aim was spot on. Using all of what remained of his will, he fired. It was a clear miss, nowhere near its target.

"Come on sockhead, use some effort!" Eddy half encouraged, half commanded.

Double loaded his second shot, closed one eye, aimed, and fired. It too flew nowhere close to the antenna.

"Take it slower." Tippi advised. "Be careful."

Double D did as told. His third shot, though another miss came very close to the antenna. The fourth shot was less impressive, being somewhere along the line of his first two attempts. His fifth came closer to the target, but wasn't quite as spot on as his third short.

Double D looked at his last two arrows. They were his only hope and to Double D, a symbol of failure. Promising to end this once and for all, Double D loaded his bow, took one look at the target, and fired.

For a second, Double D thought he'd missed again, but then sparks began to erupt from Fracktail. His purple scales turned bone white as his inner systems began to fail. His body straightened and his wings barely kept himself in the air.

**"I…" **Fracktail's weakened voice spoke. **"I… I AM ERROR. HEROES… P… PLEASE FORGIVE ME. I AM… WEAK… MY MALFUCTION… WAS… WAS A BURDEN…"**

"No!" Double D shouted back, pulling himself from Ed's coat. "You aren't weak! You have not made an error. It was Dimentio and… and me…" Double D began to sob, seeing what he'd done to the guardian who was built for good. "I'm the one who should be sorry."

**"NO… NOT YOUR FAULT… BE STRONG… HEROES… I WILL… TR… TRY TO LAND US… PLEASE… SAVE ALL WORLDS… PLEASE…!" **And with that, Fracktail shut off forever. As his power failed, he plummeted to the surface, the people onboard holding on as tight as they could.

…

The sand settled and the prophesized ones found themselves upon the ruins of a defeated friend. They leapt off the dragon and made their way off towards the next Pure Heart; but one stayed. Double D did not move, standing by the metallic dragon's side as his friends begged him to come with them.

Double D refused to leave without paying some sort of respect for the life which he'd just destroyed. So the group stayed for a brief funeral, more out of pity for Double D's sadness than Fracktail himself. Double D laid some attack items by his broken purple armor. He whispered a brief apology and some sort of promise to the quote unquote corpse, and then stood up, signaling to the others that it was time to move on.

The heroes lowered themselves into the chamber. It was blank, dark, and dank; nothing the group hadn't grown used to in Yold Ruins. They stared in confusion, as they did not see the Pure Heart anywhere.

"My, my… you've all finally arrived." A soft feminine voice cooed. The heroes looked up to see a thin women with blue skin, covered head to toe in blue silky garments, and long flowing white hair. Every looked at her in awe. She slowly levitated towards the ground, staying a few feet above the floor.

"My name is Merlumina." She told the group. "I am a dormant soul who had waited one-thousand five-hundred years in this very tomb, waiting to deliver the Pure Heart to such brave, courageous, noble heroes."

Double D lowered his head. "Ma'am," Double D calmed interrupted. "I am not noble. I am ashamed of myself. I've committed murder. Not just murder! I've killed one on our side! Robotic or not, he… I just…" Double D choked up, unable to continue.

"Fracktail is a brave soul, as he knew the risks the guarding the Pure Heart." Merlumina explained. "His death will not be in vain. Tell me boy, why do we fear death?"

Double D blinked. He rubbed his forehead and replied, "Well, I don't know… it's painful… and um… it's… uh…"

"Death is simply just a phase, a transition," she replied. "Death is just the release of the soul from the body. What is truly the next step in our journey is rest. Something I have yet to do…" Merlumina gave Double D an understanding stare. "Fracktail shall be fine. Though he was built of metal, I do indeed believe his noble cogs and gears housed a soul."

Double D smiled. "Thank you." He whispered.

"Mario," she continued, turning towards the red capped Italian. "You are the strongest. You must protect these people throughout your journey. I can sense your aggravation, which is easy to understand. But the bonds you share with these good folk must grow stronger if your quest is to succeed."

"I-a know." Mario replied. "I-a will-a try."

"Wow! She's like a fortune cookie with lots and lots of adjectives!" Ed said, amazed at the ghostly women's wisdom.

"Ed, you're an idiot." Eddy mumbled.

"Eddy," Merlumina spoke. "Mind sharing what you just said."

"Other than the obvious?" he replied.

"You selfishness will not earn you far in this adventure, inpatient one." Merlumina urged. "Ed is your friend, is he not?"

"Duh," Eddy replied.

"Oh yah, Eddy's the bestest friend ever." Ed told Merlumina. "Like when he yells at me," he went on; counting all the things Eddy does to him with his fingers. "Gives me knuckle sandwiches, calls me lumpy, tells me to shut up, and tricks me into various shenanigans."

"Sounds like a very one sided relationship." The sparkling spirit said. "Call it intuition, but do you treat everyone this way?"

"What's it to you?" Eddy groaned.

"Try tolerance," she insisted for Eddy. "The sooner you resort to it, the less likely you shall be to lose your friends."

"I am tolerant!" Eddy insisted.

"Then why do you beat on your friends?" she asked.

"Because I can't stand not being in control," Eddy snapped back. "It sucks being on the bottom. And believe me, I'm there a lot, being bullied and crap. It's the only way I feel happy." Everyone turned and faced Eddy. No one had suspected people like Kevin had gotten to him and made him feel like that, but… it felt like there was something more.

"Be honest with your friends," Merlumina suggested. "They are for friends for a reason, to support you and help you through tough scrapes. Trust in them."

"I guess so," Eddy mumbled, conceiting defeat.

"Nazz," Merlumina said. Nazz looked at the ancient women who promptly said, "That blonde hair of yours is ridiculous. Looks like a hipster designed it. Get a real hairdo before someone tries to arrest you."

Nazz frowned. "Gee… thanks."

"Ooh! Ooh!" Ed yelled. "I want a fortune, mystic bringer of the Chinese cookies!"

"Sorry," the spirit apologized. "Ain't got nothing on you."

"I love that song," Ed replied out of context. "You really are a psychic."

"Sure…" Merlumina answered uncertainly. She faced the pixl. "Tippi, fate will return what you've been seeking." Merlumina told the butterfly. Tippi was confused, what did the strange woman mean?

"Now my friends, I must tell you the whole story, the whole truth about how this whole mess was started and why it must be stopped." Merlumina began. And so began the two hours of madness. The heroes endured an utterly long and painful story beginning with Merlumina's past and how she was quite the fox and had tons of boyfriends. "Why, Griswold just didn't know how to keep his hands off me!" It was an hour in before she even started talking about the Pure Hearts. And at first, it was mostly just commentary about what she thought the Pure Hearts should've looked like. "Cube shaped, and rainbow colored! But no…! Ms. Magerina just had to have it her way!" By the time she actually got to the importance of the Pure Hearts, no one but Mario and Double D was still listening."And that is why Count Bleck must be stopped, and the worlds saved." She concluded. "Did you get all that."

"Why yes." Double D replied. "Crystal clear!"

"Definitely," Mario replied.

"Uh… I guess…" Tippi muttered, somewhat confused on what the misty figure had been saying.

"Um, yah- sure!" Nazz quickly replied, trying to cover up how she lost interest.

"I don't know," Eddy replied, not caring.

"Haven't got a clue why we're here!" Ed shouted.

Merlumina only seemed to care about Double D's and Mario's responses. "Good. I was telling the short version so I wasn't sure if you'd understand."

"That was the short version?" Eddy asked.

"Now my friends," Merlumina bowed. "I present to you, second in your collection- the **Orange Pure Heart**!" The Pure Heart popped out of nowhere, seemingly created by the air around it. Its presence was enlightening, calming the spirits of everyone in the room.

Smiling with pride, Mario took hold of Pure Heart, successfully capturing their second Pure Heart.


	13. Awkward Hellos and Unspoken Goodbyes

_Chapter twelve has gotten a bunch of major changes thanks to the advice of Yoshermon. I highly advise that people reread that chapter, as it is has gone through several major changes plot wise and grammar wise. As for this chapter, I'm sorry it's late, but I hope it's on par with all of your expectations._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Thirteen: Awkward Hellos and Unspoken Goodbyes

**"****I say we meet again."**

**"****Again, is that wise?"**

**"****Come on! We'll sneak out."**

**"****If you say so girl, when?"**

**"****Tomorrow night."**

**"****What! There's no way I could-"**

**"****Please Blumiere!"**

**"****Oh, alright… I'll try."**

**_I don't know why I kept meeting her._**

**_I wish I never met her._**

* * *

><p>Jimmy closed his eyes and grabbed his friend Sarah for dear life. The mysterious void of darkness and space closed around the cul-de-sac, engulfing him and all of his friends. Still, he clutched Sarah tighter, refusing to let go as the world he knew faded away, silencing his world and his screams.<p>

…

A hand rubbed through Jimmy's hair. "M- Mom?" Jimmy asked cautiously, stirring slightly. Jimmy blinked, and his vision was still unclear as it always is when we wake up. "Sarah?" Jimmy asked. _'Was I having another nightmare?' _Jimmy asked himself. He blinked and looked at the gentle hand rubbing his face, soothing him. _'It had to be.' _Jimmy reassured himself. _'But Sarah's here! And a hug from Sarah always makes everything better.'_

Jimmy threw his arms around the figure before him, embracing the warmth of who he assumed was Sarah. "Oh Sarah, I had the most terrible nightmare." Jimmy explained. He felt Sarah's arms tighten, offering him comfort. "It was so awful, but now that you're here, it's all better now!"

"I'm sorry about your bad dreams," said a voice. Jimmy's eyes flew open in shock. Now wide awake, he noticed he was hugging some strange women with flowing blonde hair and long silky white dress. "I do hope my hug is as reassuring as this- Sarah's… would be." Jimmy stared at the woman with eyes like saucers, completely caught off guard by this woman.

When Jimmy finally came to his senses, he lurched from the woman's hands and backed away from her as quickly as he could. "Ah! Who are you? Where am I? What is this place?" Jimmy looked around at his surroundings. Everything was dark. The only light came from the black flames which whickered silently from the wall hanging torches. _'Wait! Black fire? There's no such thing! Fire is red, and yellow, and maybe blue, but never black!' _Jimmy told himself. Yet it was real, right here before his eyes. The room was blocky and plain. Blackness surrounded everything, only to be broken by the boundaries of shapes which looked like near invisible white crevices, giving form to the walls and objects in the room. This room was filled with nothing but crates which were black as the surrounding walls and labeled in yellow in a language Jimmy couldn't make heads of tails of.

Jimmy felt a hand go to his shoulder. That blonde lady was back. In a state of fear, he swatted the hand away forcefully, and scooted back into a corner between a wall and a crate. Peach slowly approached the cowering child, trying to coax him from his hiding place. "Please. I only want to help."

"Get away!" Jimmy snapped. "I don't know you!"

"I'm not trying to hurt you." She soothed. "Please come out from there."

"You're wasting your time." a voice from the other side of the room called. Jimmy looked up and nearly fainted at what he saw. A five foot tall turtle with a green shell and scaly yellow skin was leaning casually against the wall. It walked on two legs, had opposable fingers, and apparently the ability to speak. Its eyes were green and it had two slits above his mouth for nostrils. Based on the depth of the koopa's voice, it was apparently a 'he.' "The kid's scared to death. You think talking gonna help?"

Jimmy screamed at the top of lungs, alarming the woman and the turtle. "Ah! It's hideous lizard monster with fangs and a shell! It's gonna kill me! Ah!" Jimmy retreated even deeper into his compact, tight corner.

"What the hell is that kid's problem?" the creature asked Peach. "That kinda racism doesn't exactly make me wanna pity him. Why we helping these kids, Peach?"

_'__Kids?' _The word sparked curiosity in Jimmy's mind.

The woman called Peach sighed. "Just give me a minute." She walked over to Jimmy's corner and crouched down to his height. "Could you please come out? I'm only trying to help you."

"No!" Jimmy argued. "Just get away!"

Peach began thinking of a way to coax the child out of hiding. She tried offering him a bit of food, but the kid just shook it off. Comforting words were still of no use. She needed a new approach in order to draw this kid from hiding. The turtle creature sighed, looking at Peach's attempts with a sort of humor and agony at watching her failing attempts. Meanwhile, about ten feet away, another soul was beginning to stir.

…

The last thing Sarah remembered was grasping Jimmy for dear life. She closed her eyes and prayed that this nightmare would end. To her, it was only moments later she opened her eyes to find herself in an odd room that seemed to suck even the brightest hope from her soul. The dark torches barely offered light, making eerie shadows across the black room. Her eyes were still adjusting to the light. The place reminded her of one of Ed's videogames. Everything was angular and boxy with objects composed of nothing more than near invisible lines, giving figure and shape to their creations. It was a world that seemed to be forged from darkness itself.

"No! Just get away!" That voice. It rang like a siren in Sarah's ears. She whirled her head around and rubbed her eyes, trying to adjust her sight to the perpetual blackness around her. For a minute, it was all still fuzzy.

"We just want to help." A soft and feminine voice cooed. "I know this place must be a shock for you, but please let us explain ourselves."

Sarah's eyes eventually became accustomed to the dimly lit room. Clearly, she could see a turtle which stood on hind legs, some chick in a white gown that was fit for a bride, and Jimmy, crouched in a corner, scared out of his wits. Sarah didn't think twice over the two strangers and their weirdness; Jimmy's welfare was all that mattered right now. Without a second thought, she sprinted over to the poor child, cradled him like a baby, and stared menacingly at the two newcomers.

Peach and the shelled creature were stunned. They had been completely unaware that the girl had come to, but were much more surprised by the hostility and aggression which emanated from her face. "Listen up newlywed and circus-gator!" Sarah snapped. "I don't care who you are, or if you're armed or not! But if either of you mess with Jimmy, I'll ring you both out like a wet towel at the beach! Got that you abominations of life?"

"Okay, I'm a koopa!" the beast proclaimed fiercely. "It doesn't take a zoologist to figure that out! Second, we just saved you and your little friend's life, so I'd pay a bit more respect to this newlywed and circus-gator."

"Stop screaming," Peach said. "If you both keep this up, they'll be bound to hear us."

"Who's gonna hear us?" Sarah asked as she put Jimmy down on the ground. Her question seemed to answer itself. A loud banging and a sudden burst of dim light filled the room with a sudden gloomy tone. Both disappeared all too quickly, but the sound of voices was a quick replacement.

"I'm telling yah, I've been hearing screaming in here for the past half hour."

"No way, it's probably just some shroom-mice or something."

"I think it's more of those freethinkers who ain't sworn their allegiance."

"Whatever. Let's just search the place so we can report to Nastasia and get our break."

Sarah felt hand begin to push her towards the corner of the room. She brutally smacked the hands away and opened her mouth to argue, but felt a scaly cold hand cover her mouth. "You and your friend go to the far left corner of the room and stay there." The koopa whispered into her ear.

"And why should we-" Sarah was cut off by a loud clanging noise which rattled through the air.

"If you don't do as I say, we may all die. Go to the corner." The koopa ordered in a soft voice.

Jimmy and Sarah scoped their surroundings. Though the black crates and dim illumination offered great cover, but it occurred to them that these intruders were most likely accustomed to prowling in the dark and would probably have no trouble spotting them in this poorly lit environment.

Sarah worked over their choices in her mind. They could run, but what would that do? She didn't necessarily trust the turtle and the blonde lady, but for all she knew, she and Jimmy could be walking into two murderers who were ready to rip their heads off. Sarah stared down a hallway with two dead ends. There was no exit, no escape. Her only rational decision she could make was to trust what she could see. This scaly beast and bride was the only thing she could place her faith in right now… They were all she could trust…

She gave Jimmy a tiny reassuring stare and looked up to the koopa. "Okay." She said nervously. Sarah gave a slight nod as she spoke and clasped Jimmy's hand tightly. He was shaking like a Chihuahua with fear plastered on his face like cement. She quietly led him to the corner of the room and sat down with Jimmy next to her. They huddled in the corner, trying to breathe silently, fearing the slightest noise would attract the two unknown assailants to their hiding spot.

The room was silent, except for the occasional voices of the two intruders. It reminded the two scared children of the horror movies Ed watched. They were quiet, suspenseful, and unpleasant. They frequently looked for a sign of Peach and the koopa, but they had no such luck. Jimmy and Sarah supposed that the turtle creature had stowed the woman off somewhere to hide like them. The koopa was probably trying to surprise the villains and subdue them before they could take out their misfit group. The kids desperately hoped he succeeded.

BANG! The noise travelled across the room like bullet. Jimmy and Sarah still felt its eerie presence even after the last echo faded. Ear shattering and quick, the blow sounded strong enough to knock a person out. The children swallowed their hearts and felt butterflies pelt their insides, waiting for answers.

After what seemed like an eternity, a soft mellifluous voice tolled in Jimmy and Sarah's ears. "Too bad kids, your friend's ruse didn't work." Stunned by the voice's closeness, they jumped up like they had just touched an open flame.

Just to their right was a being that looked like a blob of ink, animated crudely by some kind of yellow energy. Rising from the floor beside it like a shadow growing beneath a tree was similar looking foe with instead of a yellow translucence, created a dark red hue along its outline. The only visible body part on the beings was a pair glowing eyes for each, the same color as the energy they housed. There movements matched serpents as they moved from baskets at snake tamer shows.

The ghostly menaces appeared even scarier as they talked, for the two had no mouth and their heads twitched slightly as they spoke. "We killed your little friend back there. Not much a challenge." announced the red blob. The children's faces fell in horror at the strange entities proclamation.

"Stop teasing them, you'll only scare them before we do more harm." The yellow spirit told his companion. "He's out cold, I think… I'm not an expert on motionless creatures, but he was breathing, maybe." Neither Jimmy nor Sarah knew which specter was telling the truth. It was a small relief that the koopa might be alive, but then again, there was a good chance he wasn't. But either way, they were without any protection what so ever.

The yellow creature turned to his red counterpart. "We should bring them to her for rehabilitation." The two kids flinched on the word 'rehabilitation.'

"Why?" The red shadow asked. "The koopa maybe, but why these two? Kids do not make fine soldiers."

"Isn't that up to her to decide?" argued the other specter.

"We tell her they attacked us first." The red one replied. "When will we ever get this opportunity again?"

Sarah and Jimmy watched the two plot their handiwork, praying that those two… things… would spare them. But as they babbled back and forth, the situation just became more and more grim. "She could get angry with us for not asking for her orders." The yellow specter told his companion.

"Well little Miss Secretary isn't here, is she?" the reddish hued minion replied sarcastically.

"Guess not," a familiar voice chimed. "She isn't here to save you." The two minions turned around in shock, only to be destroyed as the koopa bashed a pipe straight through them, making them disappear into a dense spoke. For menacing being, they were quite fragile. They must've had a strong offense though. The poor turtle creature's face was bleeding and a black eye was prevalent, indicating he'd been hit hard.

"Oh my gosh!" Sarah exclaimed. "What the heck happened to you?"

The creature wiped his face off. "Let's just say, it takes more than a blast of magical energy to the face to keep me down."

"We're sorry." Jimmy apologized. "We weren't quite quiet enough, I guess."

"Don't be sorry." The koopa said to them. "It's because of you, kids I was able to sneak up on those two and do 'em in."

"We were bait!" Sarah snapped.

"Whoa! Easy," the koopa said, trying to calm her. "I wasn't gonna let those creeps touch you two. Okay?"

"Yah, well uh… thanks for saving us Mr. Monster guy." Jimmy said as casually as he could.

"Just call me Todd." The turtle replied, trying to shake his 'monster' label.

"Okay, Todd." Sarah said. "What'd you do with bride chick?"

"Easy," Todd walked over to a crate about ten feet away, snapped the lid of, and helped lift Peach from her hideaway.

"Oh, so she got the fancy hideout!" Sarah moaned. "And we were bait!"

"My goodness," Peach exclaimed, shocked. "Your face!" She reached out to clean the blood from Todd's face, but he gently pushed her hands away.

"I'll be all right. Right now, we need to get you three out of this place." Todd looked over to the children. "I don't know where you kids came from. We found you two passed out in this room, but for whatever its worth, I'll try and get you kids home. I promise."

Sarah wasn't sure if she should agree. They'd only just met these people and didn't know anything about the two. She was about to argue, but then Jimmy said, "You guys saved our lives. I'd go with you two any day." He skipped over to them happily. "Come on, Sarah!"

Sarah sighed, seeing that Jimmy's mind was set, and that now it was out of the question of just fleeing with Jimmy. "Alright." Sarah groaned. She hesitantly added herself to the group and left her life to chance, going down the strange castle's halls with complete strangers.

…

The halls of the castle had a very similar style to the storage room they'd been hiding in. Everything looked graphical with its black textures broken by tiny white lines. Everything seemed very formal and classic. If felt like walking through a seventeenth century mansion which was consumed in shadow and controlled by demons.

Sarah and Jimmy quickly learned to shut up and stay quiet, unless instructed otherwise by Todd or Peach. Sometimes, they'd wait for hours for a lone hall to clear, before passing to a next room and wait in seclusion for the next chance to bolt.

When they hid, they talked. Jimmy and Sarah learned a lot about Peach and Todd while they chatted.

Peach was a Princess of some strange place called the Mushroom Kingdom. It didn't ring a bell to Jimmy or Sarah, but by now they'd guessed they were no longer where they came from. She ruled over a great deal of lands, was aided by toads and her two friends and protectors, Mario and Luigi. (Granted the way Peach talked, Mario sounded like more than a friend. ) Mario and Luigi had to constantly rescue her from and evil koopa king, Bowser.

Bowser's description alone terrified the kids. He was described as a huge monster with a green spiked shell, huge teeth, flaming red hair, a terrible roar, and the ability to breathe fire. It was no wonder Peach seemed so calm in this place. Being kidnapped atleast twenty-five times, this must be child's play for her.

Jimmy and Sarah didn't know what to think of Todd anymore. Working for an evil beast like that, yet the fact he saved their lives. Their mixed feelings didn't exactly help strengthen their trust in these new people. Peach tried to explain that many koopas were in allegiance with Bowser primarily due to assimilation and long term loyalties to Bowser's Kingdom. Todd reassured them he had no prejudice for them and was under orders to keep the Princess safe, making the kids feel a bit better.

"I guess this is the hell you go through every time my boss schemes one of his plans, isn't it?" Todd asked with a bit of irony.

"Kind of," Peach said. "At least then, I was aware Bowser wouldn't cause me any harm."

"Shoe on the other foot story, I guess," Todd mused, feeling a bit guilty. "I kind of deserve it, though."

"You're just doing what your told to." Peach sympathized. "I don't really dislike you. I try and focus all my rage on Bowser."

"Never knew how frustrating it was getting kidnapped willy nilly." Todd said back.

"Seriously, how often are you kidnapped?" Sarah asked Peach.

The Princess tapped her chin. "I guess once every three or four months..." Jimmy and Sarah were appalled at how casually she said that.

"How can you say that like nothing is up?" Sarah said.

"Got used to it after the sixth or seventh time." Peach replied.

"Wow!" Jimmy exclaimed. "That makes any story we have ridiculous in comparison."

"Go on, tell us," Peach asked with enthusiasm.

Sarah and Jimmy told about their friends from the cul-de-sac. The Eds earned a laugh or two from Peach and the koopa. It wasn't surprising, considering their everyday antics. Nazz, Kevin, and Rolf came off as stereotypes, which when it came down to it, very much stuck to that method of thinking. Johnny was of course the weird kid, with his wooden board best friend. The two kept from discussing the Kankers, as they were just unpleasant to even think about.

However, what drew eyebrows from both sides was the story of the black hole which sucked them away from the cul-de-sac, supposedly here. Todd and Peach recounted their wedding experience to the children, explaining how Peach was kidnapped by a man named Count Bleck, how the Princess and Bowser's supposed 'marriage' created a weird black heart shaped stone which erupted into a similarly described black hole when Luigi attacked it. The stories seemed to intertwine with the unnatural void which was too good to be a coincidence. Something more was amiss.

There movements through the halls of the castle were very meticulous. They'd been forced to turn around on several occasions and were beginning to feel a sense of paranoia, being surrounded by bad guys and hiding right under their noses.

Something was off about the castle. Even though there were few windows which were scattered and high off the floor, it was evident that there was never any change in light. Wherever they were, they were stuck in a perpetual nighttime. That was unheard of to Sarah and Jimmy. The two felt something darker and more sinister than an unusually long night was in affect and it creped them out.

Before long, they walked through another door which led to a balcony, overseeing a bottom floor. That area was crawling with more brainwashed servants and evil henchman then the quartet had seen anywhere else in the castle.

"Damn." Todd whispered. "We're moving closer to the center, we're going to have to backtrack and-" Something caught the koopa's eye. The familiar green helmet and fist full of twice the hammers he'd seen any normal koopa throw. "Captain…" he whispered. The rest of the party pointed their heads towards the koopa below the balcony. He was lined in lightweight body armor with a green helmet. The koopa appeared much more stable than the others of his kind that surrounded him; much more aware.

The hammer bro was surrounded by a large patrol of hypnotized minions. He was currently in a fight with what used to be a member of Todd's castle patrol group. "Do not hesitate. Bleck's word is supreme. You are only withholding your fate." The koopa who Todd recognized as Johnson said.

"Johnson, what are you talking about?" the hammer bro demanded to know. "I'm you captain. Drop and give me twenty!" he commanded. Johnson did not move.

"Yah um… I'm afraid he no longer goes under you services, K'?" A short woman dressed like a secretary with purple hair in a tight bun and blue skin stepped into view. "By the way, I've penciled you in for a three o' clock brain washing. Sorry it couldn't be soon. We had lots of stragglers like you to round up, yah know?"

The hammer bro readied his weapons. "Bring it on, lady! You don't scare me."

The woman shifted her glassed and the hammer bro fell on the ground in pain. Purple flashed of energy surrounded him, almost as though he was being electrocuted. Peach covered her mouth in shock, Sarah's face went pale, Jimmy looked sick enough to vomit, and Todd grew angry at the secretary woman who was doing this to his captain.

After two or three minutes, the flashes stopped, and the captain stood up. He was different though. His face had become a blank slate, his eye glowed purple, and bowed before the assistant as though she was Bowser himself. Todd lowered his head and whispered, "They broke him."

"Hmm… yah, see, isn't this better." The creepy woman asked. The captain nodded. "Good. Now be a lamb for me and round up the rest of the resisting party, K'."

"Yes ma'am." The captain replied and the crowd disbanded. The woman walking elsewhere, possibly to brainwash anyone who was still left with freewill in this place.

"Good lord, they're hunting us like we're animals." Peach said in shock.

"We have to keep moving." Todd said. "They could find us at any time." Todd turned to the kids and noticed Jimmy looked incredibly sick. "Hold it in kid." The koopa begged. "We can't leave anything for them to track us with. Just breathe." Jimmy took his advice and breathe slowly and heavily as they made their back from which they came.

…

After what seemed like two days of creeping through the blackness of this castle, occasionally stopping to eat or rest, their hard work seemed to have paid off. They rounded a quiet and deserted corner which held little security. The group found that they were at the majesty of a large, handcrafted, black, double doorway.

Todd walked forward and put his hand upon the doorknob. "It's cold." He reported back.

"So?" Sarah rudely asked.

"It's an old double way doorknob, made of metal which can lose and gain heat very quickly." The koop responded. "That usually means there's open air just outside." A new sense of hope filled the unseen captors of this sullen location. Just outside were the reigns to freedom, and they were ready to grab them and gallop off to anywhere but here.

"Whaddaya say we get the hell out of here?" Todd asked. Every nodded. Todd twisted the doorknob slowly. A light creaking sound filled the air. A burst of cold, but no quite icy air filled the halls. Unable to contain himself, Todd flung the door open. Everyone ran outside. Out into…

Nowhere.

It was just a ledge which led to a sheer drop off. It was like a balcony, but with no rails. "This is no night sky." Peach murmured. Around them wasn't a sky, but a twisting ray of purples and blacks which were all too familiar to the two children. This was the same colors that filled the black hole which stole them from their homes.

"That's the exact same thing we saw in the sky where we were from." Sarah commented.

"It's scaring the Mr. Bo-jangles out of me." Jimmy whimpered. "What the heck is it doing here?"

"It must've been created here." Peach replied. "Or it's spread here, either way." She looked over the edge, seeing no ground, only more of the ominous void and its entire deadly wrath. "It's everywhere." She surmised. "Like space…" Indeed, it was like space, but with gravity, breathable air… it was not natural. Now they all felt trapped. Could it be there was nowhere else to go?

"Dead end…" the koopa moaned. "How the hell can it be a dead end?" He collapsed and began to pound his fists on the ground in frustration. "This isn't fair!" Todd groaned, wondering if indeed, this was it. Peach put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Sitting here moping isn't going to help." She told him. "We'll have to go back."

"No, your friend is right." an all too familiar voice rang. "This is the end." The party snapped around to in surprise. Standing before them was a group of twenty to thirty foes led by the assistant woman who'd hypnotized the captain.

"You," Peach whispered.

"Yah, um… you can either surrender to us right now, or I can do the same to you what I did to your friend." The woman said, referring to the hammer bro. She noticed the shock on all their faces. "Yah, I knew you were there the whole time. It wasn't hard to tell. I know everything that happens here. Now subject yourselves to the Count, or it's um…, gonna get ugly, K'."

Todd sprang forward and stared at the woman with blistering fury in his eyes. "Back off guys," he told Peach, Sarah, and Jimmy. The koopa looked forward into the crowd, picturing his demise at the hand of twenty 'trained to kill' warriors, yet somehow, he stared at them without fear. It was his job to protect these people and he wasn't going to die without a fight. "I'm prepared to handle scum like this." He balled his hands into fist and gave the group of enemies a dirty glance. "I'm gonna make you all pay," Todd promised.

Todd charged, mentally prepared to take out as many foes as he could. His eyes fixed on the secretary, ready to bust her skull open like a mindless beast, but no punches were landed. The woman simply shifted her glasses, and the koopa fell to the ground in pain. The same energy that surrounded the hammer bro was now surrounding him. He twitched in pain, yelling "No!" and "I resist!" as the humans watched in horror.

It took much longer to break the koopa. Six or seven minutes to be precise, but eventually, he did snap. The hypnosis ended and the koopa stood as a minion of Count Bleck. "Wow, um… didn't expect that backlash from you." The secretary said. "But no one can truly resist forever. That just leaves you guys, K'."

The others eyed the space below them, wondering what their fate would be if they jumped. "I see your eyes," The lady pointed out. "Don't think about jumping. You'll be disintegrated into nothing, as though you never existed. So anyway, I'll make it quick, K'."

"What?" Sarah asked tentatively, unsure if she'd heard Nastasia correctly.

"Normally I'm above hurting children, but I think I can make exceptions in your cases." Nastasia said, ignoring Sarah's question. Jimmy backed away, hiding a good distance behind Sarah and the Princess.

"Should we grab them, Nastasia?" asked a fellow minion.

"Why?" the purple woman apparently called Nastasia replied. "They have nowhere to run, and this will take but a second." The Princess and Sarah gave Nastasia a disgusted look, while Jimmy stood as far away as the platform would allow.

Then suddenly, without explanation, barriers of magic jutted around Princess Peach and Sarah. Sarah and Princess Peach jumped in surprise. The view from inside the impenetrable walls was distorted making one's vision like staring through water with a peach tint. Even with this Sarah could still make out Jimmy from behind the glass like view. "Jimmy!" Sarah cried, banging against her unusual prison.

"Sarah!" Jimmy cried, pressing his hands against the walls. Though their words sounded wavy and off key, like speaking through thick walls, they understood each other. It was as if they were commanding for each other's presence, and yet they were so close…

No more words were exchanged, as the boxes began to glow. Now they could no longer see each other. Sarah's screams grew silent as Jimmy's grew louder. The glowing vanished as the boxes began to fade like ghosts, leaving empty wind and no trace of Peach and Sarah.

The assistant began to ramble in shock. "What! That wasn't on the schedule. Where did those two go?" Nastasia shook her head. "Oh well, it doesn't really matter. They can't really run or hide anywhere since all worlds are ending. Their actions are as of now, irrelevant." She turned towards Jimmy. "And then there's the matter of you."

Jimmy turned even paler than he normally was. "Sarah! Help! Sarah! Where are you?" Jimmy shouted in fear. "Please take me! Don't leave me alone! Ah!" Jimmy began to helplessly cry as he screamed for his friend, begging to go with her wherever she and the Princess had disappeared to.

Nastasia looked at Jimmy with sympathetic eyes. "I almost feel bad about doing this." She commented. "But then again… my life is the Count's." Nastasia reminded herself. She shifted her glasses and tuned out the screams.


	14. A Promising Future

_This chapter came out rather quickly due to the fact I had already written a significant portion of this chapter before I wrote and re-wrote chapter thirteen, as I had originally planned to write this chapter first with thirteen coming next as a flashback chapter, but I suppose this way works too. I hope to get atleast one, if not two more chapters out before August 27th when I return to school. Wish me luck!_

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Heart<br>Fourteen: A Promising Future

**"Son?"**

**"Father!"**

**"Where do you think you're going?"**

**"Uh, to um… water! I need water."**

**"No you don't. And I don't want to see you attempt sneaking out again."**

**"But I-"**

**"Save you lies for a common man. I'm no fool."**

**"But-"**

**"You are not free yet and I do not want you afar at this hour, so stay put. Do I make myself clear?"**

**…**

* * *

><p>The group stood once again at the towers atop of Flipside. Tippi once again had returned them to where there journey had first begun. Strange as it was, the vast colored sea of air that surrounded the town had almost grown to become home with the Eds.<p>

"Um… is this place like- safe?" Nazz asked, trying to stand as close to the middle of the tall platform as she could.

"Safer than-a facing all-a those-a enemies in o' the outside-a worlds, that's-a for-a sure." Mario told her.

"Nothing to fear; the lower floors have handrails." Tippi comforted.

"Oh boy…" Nazz said, creating a fake enthusiasm with her words. "Handrails…"

"I missed the reverse gravity that Spinside has to offer." Ed said.

"Ed," Double D said to Ed. "There is no reverse gravity in-"

"I'm gonna fly!" Ed proclaimed. He dashed off towards the edge of the tower.

"No Ed, wait!" Double D called, sprinting towards his friend, subconsciously knowing he wouldn't be fast enough to stop him.

"Ally, ally oxen free!" Ed called as he lunged off the side of the platform. He laughed like a maniac as he fell the great distance, eventually colliding with the third floor, shattering the pristine tiles around him. Ed pulled himself up and viewed his surroundings. "This place has nice décor." Ed commented, staring at the rubble he caused.

"We'll meet yah back at Merlon's, lumpy." Eddy shouted down to Ed.

"Okey dokey, Eddy!" Ed called back, holding up an 'okay' sign with his hand.

The remainder of the group crowded into the elevator, shoving into somewhat comfortable position as they bended around each other. Mario squeezed his finger against the second floor button and they began their descent to Merlon's house.

"Yah know Eddy," Nazz said to small Ed. "I thought it was really brave what you did back with Merlumina, admitting that all that Kevin stuff got to you."

"I never said that!" Eddy defended himself.

"Yah totally o' did." Mario responded.

"I did not!" Eddy whined.

"It's okay dude! When we find Kevin, I'll give him a talk." Nazz soothed. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, 'kay?"

Eddy's face grew red. "Alright, thanks…" He whispered. His face grew red and he looked to his feet. _'If only they knew.' _He thought to himself.

_"I'll tell yah; that was super how you were using me to fight back in that desert!" _Thoreau told Nazz.

"I know, right." Nazz replied.

Double D turned towards Nazz. "What was that?" He asked, thinking she was referring to him.

"Oh sorry," Nazz told him awkwardly. "I was talking to Thoreau." She rubbed her head in frustration. "There has got to be an easier way to communicate with you."

_"We could just communicate mentally." _Thoreau suggested.

"Wait!" Nazz shouted, surprising the other guests in her compartment. "You can read my thoughts?"

_"Definitely," _Thoreau said back. _"Girl, you got some weird dreams. Seriously, a seahorse on a fairy unicycle, what are you thinking? And you really need to lower your obsession with this Kevin guy."_ Nazz began rubbing her temples, trying to flush out her embarrassment.

…

Merlon stared longingly at his door. _'Nearly three days, they've been gone.' _Merlon said to himself; filled with anxiety. _'It doesn't seem like much, but… Oh! I'm going paranoid. It almost feels wrong without my door being broken into shambles.' _Just as that thought passed through his mind, his recently repair door snapped in half, with a handy knife doing the dirty work. _'I spoke too soon.'_

"That's four times!" Double D bickered. "Why if I- oh… what's the use. You and Ed never learn." Double D sat down in a chair and began to rest his weary body.

"Why it seems you've all returned, and with a new face I might add," Merlon said, looking towards Nazz. "And to whom do I owe the honor of introducing myself to?" Merlon asked.

"I'm Nazz," she replied. "And you're Merlon, right? Mario mentioned you a few times."

"Indeed. It's my pleasure of getting to know you." spoke Merlon. "Well, did you retrieve the next Pure Heart with ease?"

"Well, it wasn't with ease." Double D replied. "There was sacrifice and hardships," he said grimly. His voice grew proud though. "But in the end, we did retrieve the next Pure Heart. Show him Mario."

Mario reached into his backpack and fleshed out the radiant **Orange Pure Heart**. Its warmth and power filled the room with a sense of peace and friendship. "Why if one simply brought one of these to a peace meeting, a resolution would be drafted in no less than five minutes." Double D commented, praising the feeling the Pure Heart brought with it.

"I'll store it by the Light Prognosticus until we can search for the Heart Pillar to place it in." said Merlon. Merlon grabbed the Pure Heart from Mario, and stowed in into a cabinet below a table, which house a paper white book with leather covers, embroidered stitching spelling out strange letters, and a twinkling glass heart embedded on the cover.

Double D looked at it in awe. "Why, is that the fabled-?"

"Light Prognosticus; yes it is." Merlon replied. "After dinner I invite you to study it with me."

"Why that would be lovely!" Double D exclaimed. "Such untold riches of-"

"Not to burst a bubble or anything but, where's Ed?" Eddy asked, breaking up Merlon and Double D's chat. The heroes finally realized that their friend had still not arrived. They walked out of Merlon's study, into the streets, but Ed was still nowhere to be found.

"Maybe he's still on the third floor." Nazz speculated. "To be honest, I'd just be lost among to sea of triangles, squares, and crazy colors. What's with these people?"

"Evolution does strange things to person," Double D answered.

"That lumix is always-" Eddy was cut off by passing Flipsiders, running towards Merlon, sweat running down his cube like face.

"M-m-m Merlon sir, terrible news… it-it it's just…" Merlon put his hand on the young man's side and began to shush and calm him.

"Calm yourself Angler, what news do you bring to us?" Merlon asked, still trying to calm the green man down.

"A-a-a women and a-a g-girl just… fell! Fell from sky! It's the damnedest thing, Merlon!" Angler explained. "They just popped out a nowhere and fell smack onto the third floor! They're both unconscious. There's some crazy kid badgering over one and a whole crowd has gathered. I'm freaking out here; freaking out!"

"This is indeed a strange conundrum." Merlon replied. "Go down to Chef Saffrons. She'll whip you up something to settle your stomach." Angler nodded and proceeded to a nearby elevator. "To the rest of you, we must go to the third floor," Merlon said to the heroes. "This is indeed a strange situation."

…

The group pawed their way through the crowd of people; no small task. They were huddled together and so tight knitted; it was like walking through a solid wall. When the group burst through the dense crowd of people, they were awakened to an eager surprise.

A beautiful young woman in a flowing white dress with gold crown and veil lay passed out in the street. She had flowing blonde locks and fair skin. Beside her was a little girl with fiery orange hair, a pink tank top, and jean shorts. The cul-de-sac kids knew her all too well.

"Princess Peach!" Mario exclaimed.

"Sarah!" Double D and Nazz exclaimed.

"Sarah?" Eddy asked. _'What's that brat doing here?' _he wondered.

"Sarah!" Ed cried, yelling at his passed out sibling. "Ed is here! Big brother is here! Why will you not speak to me? Is it something I said?" He continued to shake his little sister, trying to wake her.

"Ed, she's clearly not conscious." Double D stated. Ed heard that and burst into tears.

"Why must the good die young?" he sobbed over her.

"No Ed, unconscious." Double D repeated. "She's simply received trauma and is in a deep sleep."

"Wake up cranky sister o' mine!" Ed yelled while violently shaking her. "You may even slap if you wish to!"

Mario yanked Ed of his sibling and pulled towards him. "Stop-a shakin' her like-a that! You might-a turn-a her into o' vegetable."

"No way buckaroo… I swore to use my wizard powers for truth and justice only," Ed explained. Mario sighed and rubbed his temples to relieve his stress.

"Flipsiders, clear away!" Merlon said, dispersing the crowds. "You are unwanted. They will be fine, just go back to your everyday tasks." Like most public occurrences, clearance of the masses was tough. The crowd thinned slowly with much murmur and debate about the nature of two humans who appeared out of nowhere. No easy task, but after half an hour, Merlon had done away with the unwanted Flipsiders.

"These two need something to wake them." Merlon surmised.

"Gee, where'd yah reach that conclusion?" Eddy asked sarcastically.

Ignoring Eddy, Merlon continued, "Perhaps Chef Saffron could cook up something to cure them. Ed and Mario, go to Saffron's café. Her store, Sweet Smiles, located down on the first floor of Flipside." Merlon instructed. "Tell her to add to my tab. This is an emergency."

"Sure-a thing, Merlon," Mario replied.

"I will fulfil my baby sister's health meter!" Ed proclaimed. Ed began running towards far side of the platform.

"Ed," Mario called to the filthy child. "The elevator is-a the other-a way."

"I will fulfil my baby sister's health meter this way!" Ed shouted, running in the opposite direction.

"We-a shouldn't-a be o' long." Mario glanced at Ed. "Hopefully…"

…

Saffron poured a cup of steaming fire burst soup into a thick bowl and handed the substance to Angler. The poor man was frightened out of his mind. She pitied the poor man, giving him a discount on his meal to help with his pain.

Saffron had a nasty habit of being overgenerous, handing out discounts and freebees more often then she should. Over the years she'd tried to shake the habit, but all her attempts were in vain because her sweet demeanor just couldn't let her charge a soul in need.

"Here yah are, sugah. Hope yah like it spicy," she said, serving the bowl with a smile. "Alright, who's next?" Just as she asked, her glass door burst into smithereens creating a sparkly powder all over her clean floor.

"We better-a not-a tell Double-a D about o' this." Mario told Ed.

"Goodness me," Saffron said. "I know my food was good, but I didn't know they were door bustin' good. What's the trouble fellas?"

"My baby sister has been devoured my gods of sleeping potions!" Ed yelled.

Saffron raised an eyebrow. "Sweetie, I sell food and drinks." Saffron replied.

"No, you-a see our-a friends are o' out-a cold, and-a we need-a something to wake-a them up." Mario told Saffron.

"Goodness me, the poor dears! Now don't you worry about a charge, sugah. For those two poor souls, it's free as can be. I just need a fire flower." She pulled open her cabinets, revealing a shortage of the substance. Saffron frowned. "Oh dear, I gave the last of it to poor ol' Angler here. Would you fellas happen to have a fire flower?" she asked.

"Why, of-a course," Mario replied. He reached into his sack and handed Saffron a fire flower. Saffron snatched the attack item and began fixing it up into a meal. As she did, she sang a feint jingle which mostly consisted of 'doo's and 'dee's and other little rhyming sounds, but did contain a nice melody.

"Soup's on." the chef pulled her creation from the stove top. She took the mixture and poured it into two separate bowls, dropping a spoon into each cup. "Hope I didn't take too long, but it-" Before she could finish her sentence, Ed roughly snatched the bowl from the counter and dashed out the door.

"Ed is coming with lunch, baby sister!" Ed called into the streets.

"I'm-a sorry about-a him." Mario apologized. "Thanks-a for all-a your help." Mario took the other bowl of Fire Soup and followed Ed through the shattered entry-way and back to the elevator.

Saffron grabbed her paper book she used to take orders and quickly jotted down, "Note to self: Tall chunky child in green jacket – **_KEEP TEN FEET AWAY FROM_**."

…

"What could've done this to them?" Double D asked.

"Beats me," Eddy replied. "I'm just hoping whatever happened to Sarah gave her a better personality."

"Eddy! That's rude!" Double D belittled.

"Come on dude! Give her some respect." Nazz chastised.

"Oh I'll give some respect to the royalty in white when she wakes up." Eddy said with a smirk. "So where is Ed with that medicine anyway?"

"Coming through with lot-zo matzo," Ed responded almost in perfect sync. In hands, he held a bowl of thick, red soup; piping hot, and layered in spices. Mario followed, holding the exact same dish.

"Soup," Eddy said, confused. "Can't you for once think without your stomach, lumpy?" Eddy asked with anger built up in his voice.

"Soups on for the angry red head with sleeping disorder," Ed replied. He skipped over to his sister, opened her mouth like a briefcase, and dumped the soup and bowl into her mouth without a care. Mario gently fed Peach her soup, pouring it slowly into her mouth.

The two stirred roughly and slowly opened their eyes, adjusting to the light. Peach yawned, stretching her arms and rubbing her eyes. "Oh… where am I?" the princess asked. "I haven't dreamt about such tasty food in years."

"Princess," Mario exclaimed with joy. "You're-a okay!" He wrapped his arms around the blonde woman, embracing her into a tight hug.

"Mario?" she asked confusedly. "You're alright." She eagerly hugged him back, forgetting the two were in public. "Oh, I was so worried when I saw you collapse!"

"It's-a okay." Mario told her softly. "We're-a reunited again." It was only then did they realize everyone was giving off an uncomfortable stare to the white clad princess and her saver. The two let each other go, blushing as they noticed the scene they'd caused.

"Talk about friends with benefits." Nazz muttered.

"Comes with the job, I suppose." Double D replied.

Sarah's eyes turned bloodshot as she took in the zesty spices which her mouth just couldn't handle, along with the bowl jammed into her throat. She began coughing, and was answered with a tight hug from her overprotective brother.

The force managed to knock the platter out of her windpipe, but she was anything but overjoyed to see her putrid smelling older brother. "Ed has come to save from the fouls of what is the purple plate in the sky!"

"ED! Let go of me or I'm telling mom!" Ed dropped Sarah and began to run around in circles in fear.

"No Sarah! Don't tell mom, because mom will tell dad, and dad will find out, and dad will-" Ed froze when he realized what he was saying. "Oh yah, no more mom to tell." He said somberly, sitting in his position.

"What do yah mean there's no more mom to tell!" Sarah shouted, demanding answers.

Ed tried to cover up the truth and came up with the best lie his tiny brain could come up with. "Um… she's not here." He replied sheepishly.

"Fine, then I'm telling dad." Sarah pouted.

"But Dad's gone too." Ed replied, still trying his best to avoid the terrible truth.

"Okay Ed, where are they?" she asked. Ed face shriveled up with fear, unsure how to respond to his little sister. "Ed… if you don't tell me what's going on right now, I'm gonna pummel you!" Sarah balled up her hands. Ed simply gave her a teary eyed, depressed stare which only seemed to anger Sarah. She turned to the rest of the surrounding group, which was offering her a sympathetic gaze. Then a similar looking occurrence in the sky caught her attention. The oddness of the situation frustrated her to the point of yelling and shouting.

"Why can't I get a straight answer in this stupid place?" Sarah howled. "First that Nastasia lady says something about disintegration; that purple swirling thing doesn't stop following me," Sarah pointed to the void in the sky, "I have to watch turtles get tortured, and now I can't even get a straight answer from you people! And where is Jimmy? What happened to Jimmy?"

Though she was already the age of ten, Sarah still had urges to throw tantrums and violently act typical to that of a toddler. Her parents had been a small part of the problem, pushing Ed to be overprotective, causing Sarah to show severe backlash whenever Ed tried to offer her sincere feelings, or anyone for that matter. Sarah's demeanor wasn't necessarily her fault, but it was her responsibility to learn to control her emotions in a more constructive way.

Just as she was in the middle of her screaming fit, she felt two huge chunky arms wrap around her to give her a hug. It was Ed. No one had expected him to try and calm her at a time like this. No one had ever tried to stop Sarah's fits. This was astounding, even to those like Tippi, Merlon, or Mario, who knew little about Ed and Sarah's relation.

Sarah lashed back violently, clawing Ed's hands off with her sharp finger nails. "Let go of me you big ape!" Sarah cried. "I'm sick of you babying me!"

"Young lady! Your brother is trying to offer you comfort, and you demean him?" Merlon said.

"I don't want his help!" Sarah pouted. "I've had his help my whole life, and I still don't want it! I want answers!"

Merlon sighed knowing the truth would destroy the child who was already wound up without knowing the horrible fate of her loved ones. Such travesty would scar the child for her whole life. Merlon wasn't sure he could be responsible for such an act of cruelty and bear it upon his conscience. Yet holding back rightly deserved knowledge… neither answer seemed to be the fair way out.

Tippi landed gracefully on Merlon's cloaked shoulder. The pixl's tiny and mirror like eyes offered Merlon a comforting sort of brace. Nothing was needed to be said, as it was clear that hope would continue to drive forward these children, no matter what held them back. Merlon felt himself lucky to have the knowledgeable and charming butterfly, as she always seemed to calm him and guide him to a good decision. For a noble scholar, he still learned a lot from the magical little being.

Merlon took a deep breath and let the words pour out his mouth naturally, not thinking about what he would say to the frail girl. "If you wish to know what others have become tormented with, then join me in my study. We have much to discuss and I think we'd be better off doing it in a more private location." Merlon swayed his old and tired body and took a leisurely stroll towards the Flipside Elevator. Footsteps followed, bringing sadness with them.

…

Merlon and the Eds had a terrible time recounting their experiences and knowledge to Sarah. The pieces of the puzzle fit together in Peach's mind. That castle they were in was inside the devouring void, safe from destruction as it was a part of the void, bound to it existance. The dark and twisted man, Count Bleck, had sought to end what he saw as imperfect dimensions, creating ones in his and his minions' image. Some worlds were already gone, like those children's over there. She cursed Bleck for creating the foul Chaos Heart and creating the black hole, yet she chastised herself for being a part of it.

Technically, Bleck was the one who'd created the void my "marrying" the Princess and Bowser, yet it was still her vow which created that terrible stone. Peach remembered waking up to see Bowser's face overly delighted face. She had found herself in a strange yet eloquent courtyard. Bowser had been… in a tuxedo… The sight made her gag. If that wasn't bad enough, she'd found herself stuffed inside a wedding dress, being forced into marriage with that terrible koopa while humiliated as his minions watched and cheered.

Count Bleck, as she remembered him, was a clean cut man with blue skin and fancy and sophisticated attire. Wearing a monocle, top hat, and cape with a scepter- he managed to pull off a british look without even being so. She remembered his assistant all too well. That bastard who'd hypnotized Todd and the rest of Bowser's army, the beastly woman who was probably doing unspeakable things to Jimmy!

Bowser had said yes immediately when asked. "Heck yes, I totally do! Come on Blecky, let's seal this thing." She remembered him saying.

When Peach said no and resisted, the assistant hypnotized her. The Princess remembered the sensations of being shocked, burned, and stabbed, but it was much worse than that. It was almost as if someone was frying her insides, while whispering to her, _"It could all end if you say, 'I do.'"_ Peach resisted as long as she could, convincing herself the voice was a lie. Yet, it seemed so tempting and irresistible. As she caved and said the two small words which sealed the fate of the universe, the tension and pain eased, but were still existent. Peach wanted the scream. The voice had been a lie.

And then, a sense of evil flooded the place. A feeling of dread that frightened even Bowser. Darkness filled the air as a large dark stone, shaped like a heart, rose from the altar podium like the undead. Then, Luigi came. Peach found herself sighing as she clutched her chest and laid still on the floor. Luigi would save them.

But all was not so. Luigi had jumped straight up to the podium, acting like a proud and noble leader as he tried to emulate his brother. His feet collided with the black gem, causing a series of violent rumbling, followed by a sudden implosion, dragging the guests towards the deadly idol. Peach assumed she would be killed as the jewel let off a terrible blast. How she survived that event was a mystery.

The Princess was ashamed at all the pain she was causing. It was all her fault again and this time she wasn't a prisoner to a villain, she was prisoner of watching others suffering.

Seeing a little girl like Sarah cry was enough to make the Princess wish that the explosion had finished her off. Peach wanted to yell to everyone that she was sorry, that she would rather have not been born that to have caused this much suffering. She wanted to be kidnapped and never be found, feeling as though she was a waster at everyone's expense.

Then something unexpected happened. Ed offered Sarah a hug. He'd offered her a million before it, and no doubt he'd offer a million more, but this one Sarah accepted. She flooded herself with her brother's warmth, ignoring the retched stench that came with it. Their sibling bonds had never come off stronger in this moment of darkness for the two children. A shining ray of hope filled the room, equivalent to that of the Pure Heart. Maybe even stronger…

Sarah looked up to her brother and asked. "Are we going to get Jimmy back?"

Ed nodded. "Lothar will vanquish all to save Jimmy."

They re-embraced, smiling through tears as they comforted each other. They would not accept defeat. They would not fail…

Princess Peach saw something through the two children which brought her to smile. Their resistant to give in and strength in each other was to be admired. If they could find hope in this situation, so could she. Peach decided that it her duty to help. If she wanted to make up for her flaws, then she'd help Mario and these children stop Count Bleck. Peach had finally learned that she needed to rely on herself, and she'd found that strength within two children.


	15. Many Adventures of Flipside and Beyond

_I'm sorry this took so long and that it's kinda subpar. Guess it didn't come out before August 27th. Part of the reason this took so long was because I had no idea what to make each individual story about, so it involved a lot of rewriting and editing of each separate tale. Good news is I've got the next four-five chapters preplanned so no need for that nuisance. The next update with be slow due to school and sports. Also, I will be working on a rotation schedule between this story and my other current work, and Ed, Edd n Eddy / Total Drama Island crossover, which will delay this story further. Sorry about that… So… stay tuned and enjoy. (On a side note, I'm changing to locations of some Heart Pillars to strictly basement areas because I couldn't find a way to put them on the second floor due to the lack of flipping mechanics.) On a quirky side note, I had to drop the "The" from the chapter title to make it fit in the scroll box._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Fifteen: The Many Adventures of Flipside and Beyond

**"Blumiere?"**

**…**

**"Blumiere…?"**

**…**

**"Where are you?"**

**…**

**"Please don't leave me alone."**

* * *

><p>The coffee shop was in a basement section of Flipside. Like an abandoned city, it appeared as if it had been layered, stacked upon with newer sleeker floors, and buried under rubble, until it was nearly forgotten. The concrete stone buildings were out of date and crumbling due to lack of renovation. This layer was unique, being surrounded by walls, a ceiling, and windows, almost like a house. Most of the basement floors of Flipside were no longer useable. Only a small portion of the first floor basement was safe to be in, and there was talk that that area would be retired soon.<p>

Mario and Peach decided to seek refuge in the outdated café because Peach told Mario she needed to speak to him alone. Mario was spectacle, but agreed. They asked the locals who told them the Underground Latte Shack a great place for quiet, private talks. Humorously, all of the locals kept giggling, smiling, and winking at them, Mario and Peach not seeming to take the hint.

Peach, now in a simple brown flannel skirt and plain white shirt, quietly ordered for two cocoa lattes and sat down with Mario at the bar, unsure of what to say next. She tentatively looked at Mario and began to speak. "Mario, I'm sorry about all this." she apologized. "It was me and Bowser-"

"No, no…" Mario soothed. "Don't-a be o' sorry. It was-a never you're-a fault. It was-a all Count o' Bleck, not of your-a free will." Mario promised.

"I know but…" Peach froze. She didn't know how to introduce her idea to her longtime guardian. Of all the possible things she could ever say to Mario, she'd never imagined that she'd announce this. "Mario, I want to join you all on your journey." She said.

Mario mouth gaped and his eyes bulged from his head in surprise. "P- Princess…" Mario stuttered. "You've- I-a can't let o' you. It's-a my o' duty to-a protect-a you. You don't-a need to make-a up for o' this event. It wasn't your o' fault."

"It's more than that." Peach argued. "I always need your help and I can't help but feel like life would be easier for everyone if I wasn't captured all the time." Her weary eyes looked up at Mario with a pleading look, asking if for once she could finally be useful. "I feel like, if I don't do something, I'll never be anything except trouble for anyone. Sarah and her brother have given me hope for a better future, and I want to help stop this terrible event and rescue Sarah's friend. It means so much to me."

"Peach," Mario began. "I-a- um…" He sighed, frustrated being unable to enunciate what he wanted to say. He looked the Princess in the eyes and said, "Do you know anything about combat?"

"Yes, of course," Peach responded, trying to persuade Mario. "Toadsworth makes me practice jujitsu three times a week for self-defense purposes." Mario still did not look convinced. "I know, I've been captured… a lot… but I've always been outnumbered."

"We'll-a be o' out-a-numbered throughout o' this whole-a adventure," her guardian warned her. "We've-a al-o'-ways been."

"If I had a weapon," Peach mused. "Then I could be stronger. I could help then, right?"

Mario still looked unconvinced. Peach grew more desperate. "Please, let me!" She begged. "If you can train three immature boys to fight in a matter of a day, then could it hurt to try and train me?" Peach asked.

Mario groaned. She'd got him there. "Yes but…" Mario searched for a reason. "They're-a part o' the prophecy. Destined to-a do o' this." He said, coming up with yet another excuse.

"What was your first impression of them?" Peach asked.

Mario returned her question with silence and a dumbfounded face. The Princess smiled, knowing she had won the argument. The Italian cursed himself, unable to make more excuses. "All-a right, Peach." Mario gave in. "If you can-a show skill within-a training, I will-a o'-llow you to come-a with us."

"Thank you Mario," The Princess cried, throwing her arms around the red clad man. Mario blushed and returned the hug. It would've been a touching scene, if not for the shady bartender.

"Excuse me, Blondie and Red 'Stacue." The Flipsider interrupted, causing Mario and Peach to nearly push themselves off one another. "You did notice you've been sitting there for twenty minutes yammering on and on about feminism or something. Your drinks are no longer warm and yah don't get you money back, anniversary or not." The man told the couple before departing into a room behind the counter.

The two looked around, seeing how other customers were giving them reproachful stares, putting the duo in a metaphorical spotlight, shining brighter than the largest sun. Mario and the Princess blushed, unsure how to react to the unwanted. They sipped their nauseatingly cold beverages, trying to avoid direct eye contact with the people.

"Uh…" the Princess muttered. "May we should just head to the gym?"

"Sounds-a good," Mario nodded. The two stood up, and fled the premises before they were embarrassed any further.

…

Immediately after Sarah's recuperation from her terrible ordeal, she insisted on rescuing Jimmy. Mario, Double D, and Merlon were quick to refuse. Their instinct told them that a young girl would not be fit to come with them on this extremely dangerous venture. What they were not expecting was support for Sarah. Ed and Princess Peach seemed adamant on giving Sarah a chance to prove that she worthy to come with them. (Later, Mario would learn why Peach had fought on Sarah's side.)

Merlon and Mario agreed she could come if she was armed and was with a proper escort at all times. Double D would still not budge. "I will not be responsible for the liability of a ten year old girl on this treacherous quest. How could you risk the wellbeing of someone so young?" Double D questioned.

"Double D, I'm getting Jimmy whether I have to pummel my way past you cute fragile body or not, but either way you're not stopping me," Sarah replied. Double D was shocked. Did she just use the word 'cute'? Double D was so caught off guard, before he could argue farther, Ed and Sarah had already taken off to go train down at the Flipside gym.

Double D looked for support from Eddy, but he was long gone. He looked to Nazz hoping she'd side with him, but she insisted that she would remain a neutral party in this debate. Double D groaned and turned to Mario and Merlon.

"Are you just going to stand there and let this transpire?" Double D asked them.

"How-a 'bout you-a go with o' Nazz and-a find the Heart o' Pillar," Mario suggested. "Jus' take-a your mind off-a this."

Double D sighed and began rambling to himself. "Sure. What do I care? I'm just plain ole stupid Double D. No way does my high I.Q. and risk to chance self-analysis mean anything to anyone. Let's just ignore Double D and wait for the subsequent consequences." Halfheartedly agreeing to Mario's idea, he tried hoping that Ed would teach Sarah well. This was not a comforting thought.

Sarah got her first decent look at the residents of the stacked town as she wandered with Ed to the gym. The people reminded her of the crude drawings she'd made of humans when she was little. Like her pictures, they were made up of basic shapes, colored in a variety of non-complimentary colors, and were disproportionate, their heads being a bit too large for their bodies. Sarah too noticed she was receiving the same stares. They were probably ogling at the complexity of her anatomy and her roundish features.

Down on the first floor, Ed shoved the doors to the massive building open, letting Sarah peer into the room for the first time. "And this is the Twistworld gym, baby sister," Ed said, introducing Sarah to her new surroundings. Sarah's first impression of the gym was that a nut had to be running it. The whole place was covered in dangerous weapons like knives and arrows just lying in the open, the training equipment looked like it was designed public artists, and the building itself extended just feet below the second floor of Flipside and took up a whole block. Twin brick walls and the twenty story rock climbing obstacle course seemed like oddly specific pieces of training equipment. However, what struck Sarah more than anything else combined about the building, was its owner.

Pick Aksz, a Flipsider with a triangular head, orange body, and unsettling eyes which constantly darted across the room, was the most unnerving thing about this place. Sarah wondered why a man would build such a place, and Pick Aksz seemed to answer that question, but raised so many more.

"Well now, who's 'dat we got with yah today, Mr. Ed?" Pick Aksz asked. "She's spunky. I can tell by the way she gets goose bumps," Pick observed, picking up on Sarah's fear.

"This is my baby sister, Sarah," Ed answered. "She wants to fight and break stuff."

"Why I got lots of stuff for that!" The figure exclaimed. "Breaking things and causing wars is second nature to me!" He continued. Pick began to observe the girl, taking her measurements and muscle content into consideration. Finally, after a few minutes of consideration, Pick exclaimed, "Do you kids like bombs?"

Sarah's jaw dropped while Ed happily responded, "Sure Mr.! We like bombs, and chombs, and ombs, and tabongs, and gongs, and wrongs, and longs, and… uh… Save the blue gravy for me!"

"Bombs, explosives; why it's perfect," Pick Aksz proclaimed as he walked over to a nearby crate and began to pry it open with his fingers.

"Um, don't you need a license to use explosives?" Sarah asked.

"Aha… explosives… license… Hah…" Pick laughed as he pulled the lid off the top of the crate and began rummaging through its contents. "That's a good one. I need to write that down… Just like Ned wrote that down…" Pick froze up and twitched slightly for no apparent reason, just seemingly drifting into a state of shock. "Anyway," he continued, snapping out of his insanity. "This place could to straight to hell if you two used this stuff in here, so I think you should explore the subterranean level of this place, eh?" Pick scooped up the pile of weapons and handed them to Sarah, along with a lighter. "You kids have fun and be careful… cause yah just never know…" Pick Aksz then wandered off to a sealed off room and locked himself in.

"What the heck was that about?" Sarah asked.

"Don't have a clue in shoe," Ed told his sister.

"My brother everybody," Sarah mumbled. "So he seriously just gave you guys weapons and trusted you with them?" she asked.

"Yah," Ed replied. He reached inside his coat and took out a rather large and heavy looking axe. "I got this axe, and Eddy got some knives, and Double D got his bow and arrows so we could save you and everyone who isn't you but is still being afflicted by out impending doom."

"I don't even know how to use explosives," Sarah admitted.

"Oh… it's easy baby sister." Ed reached into Sarah bag, taking a standard string explosive and snatching Sarah's lighter. "I've played with these things all the time on my game station back at home, plus it gives you self operating instruction manual inside most comic books."

Ed carelessly lit the explosive and tossed the lighter back to his sister. "Okay," Ed explained. "My comic book told me you like the stringy part and then you… uh…" Ed stared at the device with great intent, trying to remember the blatantly obvious second step to his process.

"Ed!" Sarah shouted with worry. "You're supposed to-"

"No, no, wait! Uh… I saw this on page fourteen." Ed scratched his head, observing the string as it slowly burned itself up. "The panel had the string, kinda like this one." Ed remarked. "And then he um… uh… what was I talking about?"

"Ed, the bomb!" Sarah screamed.

"What?" Ed asked.

"Throw it!" Sarah cried.

"Huh?" Ed said confusedly as the bomb's fuse burned off its final length.

"Ed!" Sarah yelled before grabbed the instrument of destruction and throwing it as far away from the pair as she could. An explosion shook the room, rattling the ceiling and sending fragments of debris everywhere as smoke clouded the siblings' view.

"What did Uncle Pick warn yah about?" the shady man called from private room in the back of the gym.

"Don't tell mom!" Ed called defensively through what seemed to be a natural reaction. Ed winced, realizing what he said. "I mean… Mario! Don't tell Mario because…"

"Just forget it," Sarah said, dropping the subject. "Look, can we just go somewhere where we don't kill anyone while I work with these things?"

"Okey dokey, artichokey," Ed said enthusiastically.

"Eh hem," a distinct cough rang through the kids ears. It had echoed from area near where the explosion had gone off. As the smoke cleared, Sarah and Ed could distinctly make out Mario and Peach. The two had scorched hair, charred skin, clothes hanging in shreds, and distraught faces. Sarah and Ed were speechless, completely caught off guard by their teammates.

Sarah coughed. "Uh… you see- we were… uh…"

"Run away!" Ed exclaimed, dashing madly towards the exit. "Run away! Trouble, bad, big! Ed not want to punished!" The brutish child ran through the debris and out into the town's streets. "Flee back to the tunnels of the mangled mole mutants."

Sarah tried to explain herself. "You see Ed was… we were… it-" Sarah took off sprinting too, dragging her newly acquired explosives bag and lighter. "Wait for me big brother!" she called to Ed.

Alone and charred, Mario turned to the Princess and asked, "Wanna see if-a the inn has o' any-a showers?"

…

Eddy could care less about whether or not the twerp came with them or not. Eddy didn't really feel Sarah was his responsibility. The first chance he got, he bolted. Instinct had proven too powerful for Eddy and he was eager to get back to his old shenanigans, whether Double D and Ed were available or not.

Eddy went over to Howzit's shop and purchased himself a bunch of cheap plywood and nails, cotton balls, a small bag of sugar, and baking sheets. Eddy took the elevator and brought his newly acquired supplies down to the first floor of Flipside, the most crowded area of the town. Getting himself comfortable in an area near the elevator, he began crudely using one his knives as a hammer to construct a small stand.

_'Wow, I'm good. But not only that, I did all this without Sockhead and Lumpy's help.' _Eddy thought to himself. _'But I'm gonna be rich by the end of this scam. Filthy, stinkin' rich! I can buy all of our necessities for the next journey and then some more of Howzit's junk food.'_ Eddy smiled giddily at the idea.

Once he'd constructed the crudely made stand, he began dunking cotton balls into the sugar bag. With luck, anyone who purchased a 'candy' would be far away by the time they'd sucked off the sugar. He gently tore apart the papers and began to none too carefully wrap his pseudo concoction in the baking sheets.

Finally, he etched letterings into the front of shack with a knife. Standing proudly before his handiwork, he went behind his stand, declaring the Edz Sugar Shack to be open for business. "Molten sugar ball, only five gold coins!" Eddy called to the crowd. "Come let you mouth experience sweetness never before found in the common candy. Edz Sugar Shack has got what you need."

Most of the civilians walked past the stand without a passing glance. Eddy began impatient, chanting louder and louder in hopes that one of the passersby would take a look at his stand. It took about an hour before anyone even bothered to approach the stand, and the people who did looked irritable and annoyed by Eddy's rampant yelling.

"Alright kid, we get it." The stout man, shaped with cube like body and cerulean skin. "So what, are you selling for some fundraiser or something?"

"No, this is a high class business operation," Eddy replied confidently.

The figure scanned Eddy's crude layout. "Uh huh…" he replied sarcastically. "And what are these supposed to be?" he inquired about the candy. "Cellophane paper wrapped around some dust balls?"

"First of all, smart guy, cell phones aren't made from paper." Eddy remarked, not realizing how dumb he just sounded. "And second, it's molten sugar balls. They're sweet, and they're all yours for five coins a piece."

"They don't look tasty," a yellow triangular lady told him. "They look like craft project."

"What would you know?" Eddy glared at the woman. "How do I know that hair of yours isn't a wig?"

"What are you talking about?" The woman snapped.

"Are any of you gonna buy a candy from me or not?" Eddy said, trying to get to the point.

"Fine," The bluish man groaned. "If it'll get you tah shut up." The Flipsider reached into pocket and retrieved a handful of gold coins.

Eddy grinned with a greedy sort of passion as he eyed the money. This was it, no Ed to mess up his scam, no kids to foil his plans, nothing could go wrong. Yet, fate seemed to follow to poor child, even into this strange new world. Ed couldn't have shown up at a worse time.

Running at top speeds from the gym, he barreled past Eddy's stand, sending pieces of his wooden shop flying and making the sugar covered cotton balls fling far and wide, over the edges of the great abyss which surrounded the town. "No bad for Ed! No bad for Ed!" The burly boy yelled as he sprinted across the town.

"Well, that makes my life a lot simpler." The man proclaimed. He shoved the money back into his pocket and walked away from the ruined shack. The other patrons went in suit.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Eddy shrieked. "Why does this never work? I had them in the palm of hands!" Eddy kicked remains of his scam, only to receive a nail stab right through his shoe. "Ah!" Eddy yelled in surprise. He gripped his foot in pain and began to hop around on one foot, chanting "Ow!" Before long, he tripped over more debris of his stand, collapsing on the ground beside his handiwork. "I give up." Eddy surrendered. "This is ridiculous…."

Unfortunately, it just didn't happen to be Eddy's day. Sarah, who was running in pursuit of Ed, crushed Eddy's chest with her scampering feet, dragging a heavy bag of dangerous explosives in her wake. Eddy heaved in pain, his breath taken from him like a weight which had crushed him. Sarah turned around, noticing the Ed lying in pain. She also saw piles of wood and dusty wool balls.

"Yah gotta love my stupid yet muscular big brother." Sarah said to Eddy, loving the irony in his defeat. "Wait for me, Ed!" She called, going back to chasing after her older brother.

Eddy remained motionless on the ground, trying to take in the fact that even after all that work; it had still accomplished nothing… as usual… Eddy muttered, "If I get a spinoff, the script's gonna be written by me."

…

Merlon was beyond nervous letting two minors explore with precious cargo in their hands. The Pure Heart's safety was of upmost importance, and though he knew these children were the hope of saving all worlds, it didn't seem quite right letting them travel to such an unsafe place with the magic relic. Merlon knew it had to be done though, letting out a heavy sigh, he entrusted the Pure Heart to Double D, who stored it in her backpack for safe keeping.

Double D and Nazz wandered in the rubble of the top basement area of Flipside. There was no point in searching through Flipside's residential area. The only Heart Pillar within the usable city limits was the one on the third floor. Taking the elevator down to the basement area, they walked through an old rusted shut gate. It practically fell apart as they push the bars out of the way.

The remains of what used to be Flipside were old crumpling pieces of rock and floor. The many walls had long eroded away, leaving sheer drops at many locations which gave Double D a sense of vertigo. At times, he'd be hyperventilating as he looked at missing patches of floor and wall. Nazz took a firm notice in the Ed's distress.

"Dude, are you feeling alright?" Nazz asked.

"Remember the class field trip to Torrent Mountain?" Double D asked.

"Yeah," Nazz answered, slightly confused.

"Well I don't," Double D responded, "Because I didn't go! Such heights and peril above the nerve wracking elevation of seven-thousand feet were far beyond my capability. But this! Being caught forever in a freefall where I will die of starvation while declining into nowhere; that's not how I envisioned my potential future!" Double D retracted into fetal position and began to mutter, "So high… oh so high…"

Nazz patted him on the back. "Dude, get a grip. I'm sure the Heart Pillar is around her somewhere. We'll just set it into place and get the heck outta here. K'?"

Double D weakly stood up. "O- Okay…" He stuttered.

"You seemed fine back up on the higher floors of Flipside." Nazz reminded him.

"Back up there, I was surrounded by gates, crowds, buildings, and other things to distract me from my vertigo condition." Double D explained. "Here, there's nothing to look at but rocks and oblivion."

_"What's with all the big words?" _Thoreau asked Nazz.

"Double D's having an episode," Nazz said back.

_"Oh, I thought there was a serious situation. You had me worried," _Thoreau told Nazz.

"Sorry 'bout that," Nazz told the pixl.

"I don't know what you and that Pixl of yours are talking about, but I already feel its degrading." Double D said.

"Just forget it." Nazz told Double D. "Let's just get focused. I want to chow on some of that inn food. Man I'm starved."

Double D's stomach groaned in response. "Yes well, I do suppose my digestive system could use some nourishment." He replied. "Why I could go for one of those shroom burgers and a glass of- Whaa!" Double D was cut off as the floor beneath him crumbed, sending him plummeting into the unknown.

"Double D!" Nazz screamed in terror. "Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god!" She went pale, rushing over to save the boy in vain. Nazz looked into the hole, fearing what would most likely be a terrible scene of Double D plummeting into a sky of no end, never to cease falling… never to feel ground again…

Peering into the opening, Nazz nearly fainted and breathed a sigh of relief. Double D had fortunately discovered the second basement floor, sparing him a misery unimaginable to any living being. A few of Double D's limbs were jutting from clumps of dust and marble floor. Nazz cringed, praying that her friend was well and not too seriously injured.

"Dude, are you okay?" Nazz asked with concern.

"The following story is based a true video…" Double D replied, suffering from a slight head injury.

"That's kind of something Ed would say, but it's nice to know you're alive," Nazz answered. She noticed his backpack had managed to snag an old pipe which jutted out from the stone inside the opening in the floor. "I'm coming down," she shouted to him.

Nazz snatched Double D's backpack and rummaged through it. As luck would have it, the beanie wearing Ed boy happened to be carrying a rope with him. In fact, the kid had an item for just about every situation. The sack was so crammed; she could barely put her hand inside to fish through. _'How the heck does he carry all this stuff?' _Nazz wondered.

Taking the rope, she tied it to the pipe and tested it for strength and grip. She found that it'd make a suitable structure to help her repel. She flung the backpack around her, tied the rope to the pipe, and began to lower herself down to Double D.

Nazz found the second basement floor to be even worse than the first. There wasn't a smidgen of unstable ground. The entire place looked like it'd been hit with several earthquakes. It was so deteriorated; one couldn't tell that this level had once housed a bustling town. "How long has this place been abandoned?" Nazz asked herself.

_"Pretty long," _Thoreau told Nazz. _"When I created by the ancients, this area was the third floor."_

"You're joking," Nazz muttered.

_"'Fraid not," _Thoreau replied.

The blonde girl turned towards Double D and dragged him out of the rubble. He was only semiconscious. With every step, the girl heard a light creaking noise. Examining her feet, she saw small cracks where she stood, indicating that there was no telling how soon this floor would collapse. "Hey, dude, come on!" Nazz lightly slapped his face. "We gotta get outta here, like soon."

Double D slowly came to, blinking and refocusing his eyes to his new environment. The Ed stood up, regaining his footing, only to trip on the extremely uneven ground. "Watch it," Nazz warned him. "This floor is weak. We need to leave before it collapses."

"Actually, I have a feeling we'll be sticking around," Double D said, sprawled out across the ground.

"What?" Nazz asked, confused.

"Lie beside me. I believe I've discovered something of profound interest." Double D motioned. The skeptical, Nazz carefully placed herself on the broken floor. She lowered her head and neck, trying to get a more precise view of what Double D was seeing.

Through a crack in the bottom of a nearby wall, there appeared to be a large slab of rock, about the size of an average length car back on earth. The stone was weird, cut perfectly in the form of a rectangle with no nicks or scratches. Computer directed lasers wouldn't have done a more precise job carving the stone work. Though odd, it didn't strike her as interesting. But then, Nazz formed an epiphany.

"Is that…?" Nazz muttered.

"It's the Heart Pillar." Double D replied. "And believe me, there's more to it than just high quality stone work."

"Whelp," Nazz said as she stood up. "Only one thing left to do." Her hand glowed and became surrounded by a stunning blue energy. "Wall smashing time," Nazz initiated. She raised her fist to punch down the barrier which stood between them and the resting place of the Pure Heart, before Double D jumped in the way and began shouting for the girl to seize her actions.

"No! NO! Stop! What are you doing?" Double D shouted, waving his arms madly in front of Nazz. The girl's hand stopped glowing as she disarmed her aura.

"What's it look like, dude?" Nazz asked rhetorically. "I'm busting our way to the Pure Heart."

"Have you forgotten we're standing in a section crumbling ruin which could give way under our feet by the slightest disturbance?" Double D asked her sternly.

"So how're we supposed to get to the place then?" Nazz asked.

"We'll have to navigate our way through this treacherous place, I suppose." Double D said. "Follow me, and keep on light feet." Double D turned around, getting his first good look at his surroundings. This floor was even more dangerous than the one above it. It was like walking across Swiss cheese. Double D shrunk in place. "Or… may you can go first," he whispered.

"Thought you'd never ask," Nazz muttered.

…

Nazz didn't know what to expect when a Pure Heart infused itself as one with the pillar, but what she saw was a spectacle for the centuries. The **Orange Pure Heart** itself was almost like a living being, sensing the presence of its resting place. It leapt from Double D's arms, gently floating in the air, moving towards the Heart Pillar before attaching itself in the hole. If that wasn't awe inspiring enough, the Pure Heart then dazzled the girl with an even greater show.

Ancient tomes written in dead scripts began to appear before Nazz's eyes. The girl was awestruck. A vibrant orange glow pulsed soothingly from the Pillar itself. Rays which showed clock faces, ticking away with time, resonated from the light which was cast from the **Orange Pure Heart**. The light itself brought a warm glow of happiness to Nazz that she had

When the bright rays of warmth ended, Nazz felt cheated at how quickly it had passed. It was as if she'd been teased with happiness and had it snatched away from her. This made Nazz want to collect the Pure Hearts even more, wanting to spread the joy of the magical objects to all people. In a way, the Pure Heart seemed to be reminding them of their goal, pushing them to go the extra mile.

…

Sarah found that she had no skill with explosives. Frustrated, she yanked another cherry bomb from out of her bag, and lit it. She cranked her arm back and squinted at a far away pile of bricks, her target. She thrust her arm forward, releasing the bomb. The weight of the explosive made it nearly impossible to throw for the tiny girl. The device didn't make halfway to its target, before combusting, throwing dirt, rubble, and ash through the hall of the basement floor.

Sarah screamed in anger. The red head had been trying to hit various targets for three hours, not even making it within scorching radius of the goal. She threw her arm back and groaned. The bombs had to weight about five to ten pounds apiece. Sarah had never had exceptional strength like her brother. Like all small girls, she struggled to throw objects of such heavy weight. She'd heavily considered going back for a different weapon, but realized that no one her small size would be able to wield impressive tools like swords or staffs. The red headed girl realized her chances of going on the journey were slipping away.

Sticking her hand into the bag, she found it surprisingly empty. Sarah sighed, groaning as she turned to her older sibling. "Ed, get more bombs." She commanded.

"Mule-man will return with thingy-mabobs and who-whatzits, baby sister!" Ed replied with a smile. He grabbed the bag with his mouth and began running to the elevator to return to the gym. Ed climbed into the elevator, pushed the second floor button with his foot, and patiently waited for the doors to open.

Sarah sat down, all but giving up hope of ever getting approval to help find Jimmy and the Pure Hearts. She felt useless and a nuisance. Worse of all, she felt that she'd let her best friend down. The red head didn't want to think of what the poor boy was enduring. She'd have gladly switched places with the frail child to have kept him safe.

When Ed arrived at the Flipside gym, he found Mario training the Princess in the art of combat. She was wielding a spear like weapon which also had a functioning umbrella below the sharp end. The sunshade was probably made of steel of iron cloth, something durable yet flexible. Pick Aksz just seemed to store something for everybody in his death factory.

Peach was busy jabbing at Mario and deflecting metal balls Mario chucked back at her with her metallic umbrella fabric and the edges of her wooden staff. The Princess hadn't been lying when she claimed she'd received combat training at Toadsworth's demands. She'd clearly practiced with a similar instruments before, and though showing signs of rustiness and long breaks from the practice, she did prove that she knew how to fight.

"Oh, hello-a Ed," Mario greeted, noticing Ed.

"Hi Mario," Ed called. "I'm just getting more exploders for Sarah." He told the pair.

Mario and Peach uncomfortably looked at her burns and ash ridden skin. Three showers at the inn did them little wonders. "Oh." Mario answered. "How-a is Sarah-a doing with-a her bombs?"

"Oh she's lots better than she was a while ago." Ed reported.

"Really?" Peach asked.

"Sure," Ed told them. "If I had a nickel for every inch better she's done, why I'd have been robbed blind by Eddy and he'd-a spent it on himself on jawbreakers. Yum!"

Mario and Peach were awestruck. Could someone who nearly charred the two hours ago be getting the hang of heavy duty combustion tools? "You're serious?" Peach asked firmed. "She really is doing well with the bombs?"

"Oh yah," Ed said. "She's tripled what she could do hours ago."

Mario smiled. "Then tell-a the little o' scamp that-a she can-a go with-a us."

Ed beamed with pride. "Oh boy, oh boy!" Ed chanted. "Me and baby sister have to celebrate with lots of rice cakes and over dehydrated granules," Ed exclaimed as he fled from the gym.

"Mario, are you seriously considering letting Sarah come with us?" Peach asked sternly.

"As-a long as she is-a o' fit to-a fight, I see-a no reason for-a her not o' to come." Mario replied.

"Okay," The Princess replied, still carrying a gut feeling that something amiss. Unfortunately, Mario had no idea he'd just approved a girl with no formidable skills to come on the dangerous journey the next realm of the third Pure Heart. Thanks to Ed's misguided praise and Mario's misunderstanding, Sarah would now get her wish and join the team on a mission into the next dimension; but at what cost would it bring…?


	16. Sarah's Lie

_Chapter updates are sparser than I'd like them to be, but that's just the way it's going to be. Note: It will be a long while before my next update. I appreciate everyone who's stuck with the series and for that matter, your overall patience with me anyways. So, here's chapter sixteen; long overdue, if I might add. In between updates, I will try and revise grammar and spelling errors in previous chapters._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Sixteen: Sarah's Lie

**"Hello."**

**"I'm late, I'm so sorry!"**

**"Blumiere. I thought you'd… forgotten."**

**_Never in a million lifetimes!_**

**"My father caught me sneaking out. It wasn't easy after that."**

**"If it's too risky to meet, then maybe you were right, earlier. We shouldn't-"**

**"No. It's fine. I wish to learn more of you, Timpani."**

**_I craved her attention._**

**"Alright then, what do you wish to know?"**

**_My blissful love was ignorant and disgraceful._**

**_Broken by a human… and I was okay with that._**

* * *

><p><em>'What the heck am I doing?' <em>Sarah snapped at herself. _'I'm just going to along with Ed's stupidity and let myself get killed?' _Sarah had just discovered she was selected to go on the mission tomorrow. She was confused. How could Ed have persuaded Mario and Peach to let her go with them, after the fiasco she caused with her explosives?

Ed explained to Sarah how he told Mario and Peach how much she'd improved. Immediately, Sarah knew what had happened. Ed had gone and praised and most likely over exaggerated Sarah's slight improvement with the bombs. How in the world Mario and the Princess were convinced by her idiot brother with the I.Q. of a sandwich to let her tag along was beyond Sarah, but she knew one thing. If she went with them, she would most likely die or be a burden.

Sarah was ready to march off to the eldest of the team and report that she was ill fit to go with them, but a strange force held her back. She groaned, trying to understand why she couldn't tell the truth. What was she thinking? She knew exactly what was holding her back. Jimmy… _'Ugh! This is idiotic. I can't save Jimmy if I'm dead.'_

The little girl felt as if two wolves were clashing in her mind, like two different ideologies which would not permit each other's existence. Sarah rubbed her temples, trying to sort this out. Sarah fell back in her bed and stared at the wall beside her. It gave her an empty feeling.

The rooms of the inn were almost nonexistent. They were painted a dull white, almost echoing the emptiness which surrounded the town on this dimension. The furniture was a sickly green color with hints of a blaring outrageous neon yellow, not that there was much of it to look at. Just two beds, a night stand and lamp, a simple wall clock, and drawer. The bathroom was equally uninteresting. Even with guests an uncommon occurrence, Sarah wished they'd at least put something in the room to distract her mind.

The only objects that stood out at all were Nazz's blue backpack and the purple one Ed had bought for his sister in celebration of her so called "achievement." Then, the backpack spoke._ "Liars like you die out in the big bad world." _The purple sack taunted her.

"Shut up," Sarah snapped.

_"You know it well. I don't have to tell you," _the bag chirped.

"I don't need to listen to you. You're just a bag," Sarah went blank. She rubbed her eyes profusely and looked once more at her newly acquired backpack. It was still and certainly inanimate. "Am I losing my mind?" she thought to herself. "I'm carrying on conversations with bags." She sighed.

Sarah peered at the clock. It was seven-thirty. "Guess the team will be eating dinner now," she mumbled. She pulled herself off her bed and wandered out of her room exited the inn. The diner was just across the street from the gym on the second floor of Flipside. It didn't seem much different from her any diner back on Earth. It screamed the fifties with the over usage of aluminum to "hip" neon signs and trashy sci-fi, but still presentable atmosphere.

A light hand tapped Sarah's shoulder. Sarah jerked her head around and stared at the eyes of a waiter. "You can just sit down with your friends." A circular Flipsider with her neon green hair tied in a bun told girl.

"What?" Sarah asked, confusedly.

"I assume you're going to sit the people who I'd say are the same race as you," the waiter responded, pointing over to the booth with Mario and co.

"Oh- yah," Sarah mumbled nervously. "Thanks."

Ed took noticed of his sister and waived cheerfully at her with his big stupid grin. Sarah gave a light wave back. She didn't know if should thank her gullible brother or punch him for poor choice of wording.

She took a seat in the booth, squishing in the seat with Nazz, Eddy, and Princess Peach. Tippi fluttered atop of Mario's hat, landing gracefully life a feather. "I heard you did well in training." Tippi said to Sarah. "I was with Merlon, but oh how I wish I could've seen you in action."

Sarah swallowed uncertainly. "Yah, I made quite some improvement." She answered, technically not lying to the pixl.

"Hey sockhead, you gonna peel your eyes of that book and pick something off the menu?" Eddy asked rhetorically.

Double D put down the papers. "Sorry comrades," he replied formally. "I'm just really trying to study the writings of the ancients."

Tippi's tiny eyes flew open in shock. "A human, deciphering the letterings of the ancients; is it possible?"

"Well I've gotten a good portion of the grammatical rules and arrangements of words in a simple sentence figured out." Double D told her. "I'm currently learning each symbol one by one. It's confusing though, as a symbol could represent a sound, idea, or object. That and the fact each letter is written in calligraphy which is at times a bit intricate and thoroughly detailed. Also, there are many exceptions to this speech; much more than in English and French I'm afraid. It's tedious, but I'd say I've memorized about six of seven characters."

"I'm impressed." Tippi complimented. "You've only been doing this for what; three or four hours?"

"Around four, I guess," Double D stated. "To be honest, I've barely scratched the surface with these texts and tomes." Double D blushed sheepishly.

"Don't degrade yourself." Tippi applauded. "You're accomplishing so much, so fast. You truly are a genius, you know." Double D's face went even redder. "Can you speak the language?" Tippi asked.

"Well, I don't suppose that's of the utmost urgency," Double D told her. "It would take far too long to try and study such an advanced topic in a dire time such as this. However, Merlon promised to teach me when this whole ordeal was suspended."

"Ordeal would be an understatement." Eddy moaned.

"Yah don't need to remind us." Nazz griped.

"Let's focus on something else," the Princess suggested.

"Like my scam…" Eddy muttered. "That would've worked if _'YOU'_," Eddy clearly glared at Ed. "Hadn't have come through with your stupid sister and ruined my scam!"

Ed looked around the people who sat in the booth then turned his head towards the Princess. "Gee Princess Apple; you and your sister need to be more careful." Ed babbled to her.

"I think he was referring to you," Peach told the boy.

Ed went blank. "Who is You?" Ed smiled. "Does he like chickens?"

"Do you see what I have to deal with?" Eddy asked Peach.

"Oh don't be so pompous, Eddy," Double D butted in. "I think it's rather amusing, Ed's…" Double D scrambled for the right word. "Well it's certainly amusing to ponder what drones on inside hollow cranial dome."

"I just kind of go along with what Ed says and laugh with it," Nazz interjected.

"It certainly makes dealing with his babbles much easier," Double D added.

Sarah began to tune out of the conversation, not really interested in the small talk. She began staring mutely at her menu, looking down the lines of strange food and drinks. The red head ran her fingers across the porous paper, still stuck between the wolves, fighting each other for ideological supremacy.

The world outside the diner gradually dimmed and went from shades of white, light blue, and green gradually darkened to shades of grey, black, and midnight blue. Normally a world with no sun that faded to coarse nighttime would've intrigued a child like Sarah, but she was beyond caring at this point. She overheard a question from Double D. Probably another one of his scientific rants.

Sarah had long since stopped focusing on the conservations of the group, but she got the gist of what they were saying.

"Blah, blah, blah, science, blah, impossible," Sarah heard from Double D.

"Magic, magic, blah, blah, blah," replied Tippi.

"Blah, agree, blah, Tippi, blah," Mario added.

"Blah, blah, cool, blah," Nazz inserted.

"Blah, blah, bored and angry, blah, blah," Eddy rambled.

"Stupid idiot comment, HAHAHA," Ed laughed.

"Comparison, blah, blah, here, Mushroom Kingdom, blah," Princess Peach told the others.

Sarah glanced at the clock on the nearby wall. Seven-fifty. _'Where's that waiter,'_ Sarah said to herself. _'I just want this day to be over.'_

Time slowed to a standstill for Sarah. She caught every other conversation, and answered as cheerfully as she could when someone said something to her. The red head ate her burger without complaint. She thought it tasted more like tofu or something like it, but could've cared less. More small talked. It was Eight-Fifty. _'When are we gonna leave?' _She screamed mentally.

"Well-a, what-a do o' you guys, think-a the next-a world is going to o' be like?" Mario asked.

Sarah caught that sentence. _'What did Mario just say?' _The girl's insides liquified into Jell-O. She held her dinner in as tight as she could. Sarah was forced to listen.

"What a nonsensical question to ask," Double D told Mario. "It's impossible to verify what type of dimension we will enter tomorrow, as if the multi-verse theory applies to what we've been going through, we may very well end in an infinite number of possibilities."

"I'd like to go into a place full of water," Princess Peach told the others. "Oh who am I kidding, I'm just thirsty," she giggled.

"I wanna see super ninja kung-fu action land…! Hai…CHA!" Ed said, performing a karate chop. "In 3D…"

"I just hope it's better than that desert we had to hike through," Nazz said. "Man that sucked."

"I second that," Eddy said. "The field was okay, but that mountain sucked and the desert was just stupid."

"Eddy, you didn't climb that incline," Double D reminded him.

"Yeah, you-a just o' rode-a on-a Ed's back," Mario added.

"I was the camel," Ed told the others. "Meow! That's what sound camels make. I saw it in a movie once."

"I'd like to go to a place that's intellectual." Double D told the others. "Perhaps we'll stumble upon a land fresh into the golden age of advanced technology with scientific achievements that humans couldn't dream of reaching within the next ten thousand years," Double D explained with awe.

"It'd be nice to go back to the Mushroom Kingdom," the Princess commented. "Toadsworth would be sick with worry, and I should hope he's in good health."

"Mayhap we'll go to a place where Count Bleck's forces aren't stationed." Tippi said. "I'll pray for that."

"I wanna go where Jimmy is." Sarah's voice stunned the heroes. She hadn't spoken the whole time they'd been seating, and her she had no made an effort to glamorize her presence. Assuming she was nervous for the new day, they avoiding talking to the girl, in order to allow her to get use to the sudden sense of duty. "That's the only place I wanna be right now."

The heroes looked on the red headed girl. Their gazes burning holes into their teammates face. "And when I find Jimmy," she added. "He better be okay, or those who hurt him will pay…"

…

"So um… we've scouted out the next location, K'," Nastasia explained to the Count. "Definitely sensing some of that Pure Heart vibe, so uh- we've gone ahead and sent some troops out to take the offensive, K'."

Count Bleck stroked his chin, musing over the words of his assistant. "I don't feel it's enough," the Count told her. "It didn't stop them last time."

"Yah, we kinda figured that," Nastasia continued. "So I sent Mimi to uh… play- with the heroes. She'll be waiting for them if- yah know- they get in the way."

Count Bleck chuckled, happy to hear his favorite minion was one step ahead of him. "Of course; Great work as always, Nastasia! Her shape shifting powers will no doubt overwhelm those pests. As always, I applaud your success Nastasia."

The purple assistant blushed. The Count raised an eyebrow at this gesture. Before he could question any further, a wave of magic rippled through the air. Entering without warning like a flash flood was Dimentio. The jester smile, plastered unnaturally on the clown's face, greeted the Count at his sight.

"Good evening, my Count," the floating fool said cordially. "I assume you why I'm here, as you always do, being the fine leader you are." Count Bleck ignored Dimentio's obvious attempts to suck up to his master. "The master of dimensions, pleaser of crowds, and loyal servant of your cause is ready to strike nobly and majestically to rule out the variable which is these barbaric heroes." He bowed graciously.

Nastasia, not the Count, answered Dimentio's call. "Yah um… we already assigned Mimi to that job, K'. Look, love the Count's Army enthusiasm, but it's not really up to you what can and can't do, got it, K'?"

With no shift in emotion, Dimentio responded. "My apologies; but of course, you two are the master, and I am a dog: eating from your hand, drinking from your spoils, and obeying your every whim, as is your wish."

"Not to be rude, which I can be, but yah kinda have to scram, K'." Nastasia casually ordered. "The Count is busy, and I have to track down the last few people and continue the reeducation."

Dimentio's face twitched- then went still. "Reeducation, you say?" He questioned.

"You may go, Dimentio," the Count said, speaking for the first time since his minion entered the room.

"As you wish, my Count," The fool vanished hastily, leaving Nastasia and Count Bleck to their own devices.

"He's far too nosy." Nastasia commented. She turned to her master. "Excuse me," she said apologetically to Count Bleck, then teleported away.

Count Bleck grumbled. He did not like Dimentio. The clown has not been high among his list for choosing his top ranked minions. In fact, Dimentio has approached him nine times prior to being hired, and each time the Count said no. Something about his smile and mannerisms was just… off. The man just never quite seemed right in the mind. It was almost like a circuit had sparked in his subconscious and what was left of his sanity was the terrifying form a person that no one dared cross.

The main reason for the Count's hesitation to take in the jester was his sporadic nature. With his other minions, he could read them like a book. O'Chunks was strong, subservient, and loyal; but his samurai like loyalty was the side effect of a gullible nature which could not be fixed. Mimi was greedy, self-obsessive, and childish; though her resourcefulness could prove handy, her immaturity would naturally lead to her downfall. Nastasia was nervous and fidgety. The Count would never send her to fight due to her lack of self-confidence which bottled up her true potential and deadly power. Still, she kept the place running efficiently and her hypnosis powers and psychic energy was most useful to him.

Dimentio carried no obvious traits or readable insights. He was a wildcard. Count Bleck did not like wildcards. Dimentio was the poker hand he wished to discard.

…

Floating invisibly through the hallways of black ink and white margins, the menacing clown waded through forbidden portions of the castle. He phased into rooms, searching for Nastasia's secret.

A whimpering- a dull, low whimpering fell upon Dimentio's ear, catching his attention. The purple jester willed his body into the room beside him, and beamed himself into a discreet corner of ceiling. Unseen, unheard, he watched the scene below with great anticipation.

SNAP! A loud crack, followed by volts of magic, then more sobbing: a pattern set to continue every few minutes. "You truly are the most stubborn patient I've ever had. Most only last thirty seconds to five minutes." The assistant admitted after repeating the agonizing process for a prolonged period of time. "Seventeen sessions and your memories and thought patterns are only an eighth different from when we started. It could take weeks to fully mind sweep you, but I guess we're done today, K'. I have other business to attend to." Nastasia strutted out the room. Her long white shadow fading as the door sealed behind her.

Dimentio made his move.

The patient was strapped to a table. He was mumbling, possibly arguing over his fabricated memories and truth. Dark rings encircled his eyes and his hair was flat and grey, like a corpse. The patient's clothes were tattered, torn, and covered in dust. Tears fell from his eyes like weights, leaving burning trails of saline and chapped, red skin.

A frail child like him was a stranger to this place. Dimentio laughed at the boy's expense. "How silly, the most noble of warriors fall in minutes to her hypnosis and she can't tame a mere child who's gone insane." Dimentio lightly rubbed the child's face and the boy began to thrash. "Hmm… you still have some will in you."

"I… home- it… the Count… no!" the boy spoke in tiny garbled phrases. "Help, no… serve not! Bye-bye- _Sarah_…"

"What a shame. Your mind is still trying to hang on to whatever good your old personality once kept." Dimentio smiled. "I think I'll have fun with you." He chuckled. "Let's say we have our own therapy session." The clown's palm grew blue, and he held his arm high above the child's head. "Ciao, boy; let us delve into my madness."

…

Sarah couldn't sleep. She left her and Nazz's room around eleven. With nowhere to go, she wandered aimlessly across the streets of Flipside. The street lamps vaguely lit the walkways, cloaked in unnatural darkness.

The two wolves in her mind were still at war, and the time for a treaty was nearly up.

On her back was her newly acquired pack. She was pulled over like a hunchback. The weight was excruciatingly painful. She tore it off and rummaged through it. Fifteen bombs; each one had to weigh three or four pounds apiece. Beneath them was a manual on how to make handmade explosives out of natural elements.

The girl felt tears boil up in her eyes. She wouldn't be able to travel with all this junk on her back. She could barely use this stuff. Sarah felt so hopeless. She couldn't believe she let her blind ambitions of rescuing Jimmy come ahead of her common sense. Sarah now understood, she was dead weight…

In her anger, she began ripping all the explosives from her backpack and chucked them from the side of inter-dimensional village. The devices were only in sight for a few seconds, as they faded into the blackness of the never ending night which surrounded Flipside. They'd fall; the weapons would fall forever and never be missed.

Sarah grabbed for the instruction manual. It meant nothing to her. Empty, like her soul. She reached out past the railing and gently released the booklet. It flapped like bird with a broken wing, gently parachuting down to a ground which would never exist. For the few seconds it was visible, Sarah held onto the hope of rescuing Jimmy. Then the booklet left her vision. And just like that, Sarah knew she was no help.

The red head walked over to a building and fell back into the wall. Forcing her head to her knees, the girl began to lightly bawl. "I'm sorry, Jimmy," she whispered. "Ed is coming to save you. Don't worry." She pleaded to no one.

Tomorrow would be the end of her charade. Sarah knew in her heart that she'd have to fully explain the situation to Mario and the others, much to her displeasure. It had to be done, no matter how bad she wanted to help. Sarah took a tiny bit of pride in realizing that she'd done the right thing. This was a serious situation which she had no place in. Sarah hated to imagine the thought of Ed and Double D losing her in battle.

Double D would sure be angry tomorrow. Sarah let out a faint chuckle and stopped her crying. It was cute when he was angry. That'd be one thing to get a kick out of.

Sarah heard a clang. She sprang her head up and peered around her surroundings. It was still dark, but she could faintly make out a metallic sheen that glimmered hazily in the dim atmosphere that the street lamps provided.

The girl crawled forward and examined the peculiar device. It was a box; kind of shaped like a long and slender pyramid. At the very top was rope, strung on the sachet like a purse strap. It was long enough to fit around a person. She ran her hand across the surface. It felt like aluminum, but it was far too strong to be made of that material. Her hand grazed a latch about two thirds from the top of the container.

She undid the latch and opened up the package. Inside were tiny packets. They looked like the little bags that held marbles which Sarah and Jimmy played with back in the cul-de-sac. They were made of hairy fiber like material. She pulled one from the container. It felt like woven grass.

Sarah caught sight a crinkled up parchment in the triangular box. She snatched it and flattened out the material. It was a note. Sarah squinted and tried to read the memo in the non-existent light. The note read:

_Good Evening, Sarah. I've heard your cry._

_Is it because of your itsy lie?_

_Well, don't go and fret. I'm here to help you._

_These packets show proof of the truth._

_I only ask you to be gentle. These bags aren't as tame as them seem._

_For these items do teem-_

_Explode it would seem, if wrongly they were squeezed._

_A warning for you; though._

_If these are smashed and thrown,_

_It will produce an interesting result._

Sarah was baffled. Were these packets explosive and fragile? It would explain why they were kept in a sealed a sturdy container that offered little movement. Gently as she could, the girl picked up some of the sacks and inspected them.

There appeared to be three kinds; one with a red symbol on the front, one with a black symbol, and one with a yellow symbol. She had no idea what they meant, and there was no time to test them. Even with this lightweight game changer, the idea she could go with her friends…

Sarah sealed the container and retrieved her backpack. Her plan was set. Every fiber of her body screamed she was committing suicide. Sarah no longer cared. Tomorrow was her time to shine and Jimmy penetrated against her better judgment which she'd caved into only minutes earlier. With this newfound confidence, she headed back to bed. Sarah would not tell the group of Ed's mistake. It was her duty to find her friend.

From the corner of Howzit's shop, an entity watched as the girl retreated down the street to the inn. He chuckled as he saw the red headed child grow bold. "She'll do fine," Pick Aksz said with no hesitation. "She'll do just fine."


	17. What Cannot be Erased

_Hey guys! Have I forgotten about you? Heck no! In fact, now I'm ready conquer Genghis Khan! Okay no… not really. Updates are still infrequent, but this chapter should make up for it. I will try and get one or two chapters out over the upcoming Christmas break, but then the next update shouldn't be expected for a long time… again… I do hope I get around to it soon though. So in the mean time, just sit back and enjoy my writing so far._

_As for more important news concerning the story, I've edited a bit of chapter four so it'll make more sense. The group originally left for the Linelands the same day they arrived in Flipside. I'm changing this to two days. It just seems like it'll make more sense that way. Some dialogue and stuff had been changed. Read it if you will. I don't think it'll change too much as for future events in the story, but it's worth noting anyway._

_I've also put in a few things here and there to the previous chapter. Nothing too huge. I am still periodically going back to my past chapters to edit grammar errors._

_Happy Late Thanksgiving and Early Christmas!_

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><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Seventeen: What Cannot be Erased 

**"Sir, I've noticed your son has been-"**

**"Sneaking out of the castle…"**

**…**

**"How- How did you know?"**

**"I know many things, my servant."**

**"Well um… what would you-"**

**"Watch him for a month. Then in time, tell me how he escapes the palace walls and I'll have them barricaded."**

**"Yes sir." … "Sir, why is the Prince-"**

**"Blumiere is lost, and I am retrieving him. You will speak no more of the subject."**

**…**

**"Yes sir."**

* * *

><p>Double D sniffed his shirt and cringed. His once orange shirt that used to shine with pride in his suburban town of Minnesota was ragged, dirty, stained, and now looked more mustardy brown than anything else. His shorts were no better; the color purple had drained away, replaced with a sickly bluish green color.<p>

The Ed boy had gone shopping for new clothes after dinner last night. What he returned with was two black shirts, a grey jacket, two pairs of blue pants, and one pair of black shorts. _'One could mistake me for a follower of the gothic counter-culture in this attire,' _Double D mused to himself.

The intellectual child had no interest in buying clothes out of his usual dress, but realistically, he knew it was downright nasty to keep recycling his same laundry. He'd been in the same garments for almost a week and the smell was starting to get to him. In his old life, sanitary clothes were simply expected of him.

_'Times like this make you aware of the luxury one once lived in.' _Double D noted mentally. _'One can only imagine how much my comrades and I have truly taken for granted.'_ Pushing the thought aside, Double D put on his dull shorts and one of his shirts. The boy adjusted him cap and began to pack what little he carried with him. Into his sack went the rest of his clothes, along with food, water, and a first aid kit.

In a separate container, Double D stored his arrows and sheath. The Ed boy looked down at the slender package full of weapons. Images flashed in his head like a slide reel. A robot, metallic and proud, built to defend the Pure Heart has fallen at his hands. The Ed until now had not understood the true value of life. In some ways, he still wished he was the naïve kid he was nearly a week ago, getting ready to start a separate adventure in Oregon… with his parents…

Strapping on his backpack, the boy rose up from the bed and departed out of the inn and to the elevator. The ride up was nerve-wracking. The Ed boy began to ponder over many possibilities of the next dimension. Could they be worse than the horrors unearthed in the last world? Would there be greater threats than O'Chunks and Fracktail. Double D answered his own questions. _'Probably.'_

The button dinged and double doors slid open sending a barrage of fresh air into the tired child's face. A second pair of wooden double-doors had materialized just about six feet away from the first set of doors. These doors had the exact same carving as the previous ones and were of the exact same size and height. The only difference was that these double-doors were orange and not red like the entrance they'd gone through before. Mario, Tippi, and Peach were already waiting.

Mario looked about as normal as ever and being the fairy-like creature that she was, there was nothing about Tippi that could be changed. Peach, however, had undergone a fascinating transformation.

When Eddward had last seen the Princess, she donned a wedding dress with ornaments and jewelry hanging from her body as if it was her own skin. Now, her wedding dress had been ridded of and replaced with an orange jacket and tight, form fitting pants. The Princess's earrings and jewelry had been confiscated. Now the woman carried with her only a standard backpack and her newly acquired umbrella/staff hybrid. Interestingly, she still kept a tiara planted in her loose blonde hair.

At a loss for words, the Ed tried his best not to look at the princess. It seemed that that woman looked good in everything she wore. _'What is Mario trying to accomplish by playing chicken?' _Double D thought to himself. _'If I was a bit older, I'd be feigning for her hand aswell.'_

The boy took his mind to others things and pasted the time by continuing to read on about the language of the ancients. Soon Nazz and Sarah showed up. They began to rest with the others, readying themselves for the journey to be.

Time pasted, and Double D found himself frequently looking back at the elevator. He checked his watch again and again. Seven fifty… Seven fifty-seven… Eight o' one… Eight fifteen… Eight twenty-four… Eight forty…

"Curses," Double muttered. "Leaving those two to wander aimlessly and sidetrack us." He sighed in despair. "Not one of my brighter moves."

…

Ed and Eddy were bouncing around Howzit's store like wing-nuts. They had been told to buy the essentials only (which after their lack of preparedness in the desert, they were sure to correspond to). However, that did not stop them from starting an all out spending spree the second they'd bought what they needed.

Eddy was still loaded from the coin blocks in the last world, and he was ready to cash in his dough. On the countertop, Eddy piled rich candies, deserts, and cakes while Ed grabbed some of the local comic books, thoroughly interested in the Flipside publications.

"Hey Eddy, I got a comic book!" Ed boasted, waving the booklet wildly while Howzit continued totaling the rest of his purchases.

"Yah, whatever lumpy," Eddy replied, not really listening to his friend. He dumped his haul onto the counter, and the various confections he collected scattered far and wide across the countertop surface. The boy then grabbed his survival gear and set them near the edge of the tabletop, as if they were less important than his treats. "Set me up, Howzit." Eddy commanded. "A hero deserves his discount."

Howzit frowned and shook his head. "I saw yo' pockets. You h've got enough to pay fer all of this and more. No discounts."

"Come on!" Eddy whined. "Why not? I am saving your guys butts from that space hole after all."

"Shush!" Howzit whispered. He pointed to his left. A customer was shuffling through the magazines near doors.

"What's the big deal?" Eddy said. "It's not like I'm talking about something explicit like-" Howzit snapped his hand over the Ed boy's mouth. The merchant waited patiently for the Flipsider choose his magazines as Eddy moaned angrily under the man's angular hand.

"Don't talk with your mouth full Eddy," Ed told Eddy who was furiously trying to pry Howzit's hand off his mouth which muffling incoherent swears.

Only when the customer had paid Howzit and left the shop with his purchases, did the shopkeeper release his hand from Eddy's lips. Eddy began a furious rant, taking out his built up anger on the Flipsider.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" Eddy yelled. "Are you trying to strangle me? I say two lousy sentences and you begin trying to choke me."

"You listen," Howzit snapped, cutting off Eddy. "No one in this city knows of dat vortex's true origin 'cept you kids, Merlon, and me. Do yah know what kinda hysteria it would cause if Merlon told da' townsfolk of that void's true purpose?"

"Oh come on, they'd be worshiping us like hot cakes," Eddy replied nonchalantly. "I'd bet we'd get money thrown at us. Maybe we'd get a horse drawn carriage ride everywhere. I bet that we'd be paid to do this job, and then we could more stuff from your store!"

"Would we get chickens, Eddy?" Ed asked his partner excitedly. "Lots and lots of chickens with gravy cakes and hot buttered toast with a side of Evil Tim comic books?"

"Only the finest, Ed," Eddy told Ed.

Ed grinned giddily. "I could get a collector's edition of 'The Terror of the Lava Man Strikes Back' as written by the Barnum and Bailey comic books of Cleveland and Chinaville. Hold the mayonnaise."

"Listen up yeh two!" The orange humanoid bellowed, silencing the two Eds. "Merlon has made it very clear dat no one outside 'ub us is teh know any illicit information about that 'dere void, understand. People don't need tah know anymores about it than that itsa rare astronomical anomaly, got it. Not only that we don't want the Flipsiders in a fit, we want you heroes focused. If those people knew, they'd be pilin' the pressure on you and making you stress out. So long story short, tell NO ONE!"

"Fine!" Eddy surrendered. "Geez, you're like the fifth person who's given me one of these speeches in the past week." Eddy emptied the coins from his pockets and piled it onto the counter without counting it. He took the goods he'd selected and dumped them into his backpack. "Come on Ed, let's go." Eddy told his dimwitted friend. "We're supposed to meet sockhead and the gang on the Flipside tower."

"Wait," Howzit shouted to Eddy and Ed. "The tall one didn't pay for his goods!"

Not looking back, Eddy replied absentmindedly, "I put enough up there for both of us." He then whispered, "I think…"

"See yah later, alligator!" Ed waved as he and Eddy left. After they had left, Howzit counted through the gold coins and went through a mental checklist of what the two had bought.

The octagonal man scowled. "Dey most certainly did not pay a' nough."

…

Eddy and Ed stepped off of the elevator and joined their awaiting teammates at the top of the Flipside tower. Mario, Tippi, Peach, and Double D looked absolutely furious. Nazz and Sarah on the other hand just rolled their eyes, dismissing their actions as 'typical.' "Well, if it isn't the two tardy twins." Tippi noted sarcastically.

"Can we meet them?" Ed asked. Sarah slapped her forehead and breathed deeply.

"Numbskull…" Eddy muttered.

"I'm very disappointed in you two fellows," Double D chastised, making his annoyance clear. "Mario and Tippi instructed everyone on the time to meet here last night. Everyone else showed up at eight a.m. on the dot, but you two…" Double D paused for emphasis. "Oh… but you two…! You two just had show up at eight forty-five. We're behind schedule! I hope you realize that."

"I realize that life is like a box of crackers," Ed replied frankly. He reached into one of his many jacket pockets and pulled out a few salted chips. He popped them into his mouth and said as he chewed, "Yep, tastes like the bread of life and I'm living it."

The rest of the group blinked and Sarah smacked her face again.

The Princess leaned over to Mario, "I don't understand," she whispered. "Is he philosophical or just plain dumb?"

"Probably, the o' latter," Mario whispered back.

"Will you relax Double D," Eddy told his far more intellectual friend. "We're here, aren't we?"

"Everything's a game with you!" Double D insinuated. "Can you two just take this seriously? For once in your life will you just stop and try not to think of just yourselves?"

"We are taking this seriously," Eddy countered. "And we do think of things other than ourselves?"

"Oh...! Are we talking about money, candy, and comics you so benignly indulge yourself in, or your deceased parents whom all of us except you two seem to be interested in saving?" The air grew silent and cold. That pervasive comment had left the group awestruck with disbelief and disdain. The heroes couldn't believe the child had just said. A part of Double D himself couldn't even believe what he'd just said what he said.

The emotion exemplified in his friends face's felt like a punch the gonads. Ed's face turned blue and teary while Eddy's turned red and sour. Double D saw this and immediately regretted his choice of words.

"Oh, I see how it is." Eddy grumbled. "Sorry; I completely forgot how you lost people that were so close to your oh so precious heart. I hear yah. No more selfish Eddy." He crossed his arms and began to stomp off towards the door.

"No Eddy!" His beanie-headed friend pleaded. "I didn't mean it like that! I just-"

"Save it." The pipsqueak Ed boy barked. "Let's just go." Eddy stalked over to the orange door, recently formed by the magic of the Pure Heart.

Double D bounded over to his odorous friend. "Ed, you know I didn't mean it that way, right." Ed's lower lip was quivering and tears were staining his greasy skin. He was blubbering like a little child and was on the verge of losing his grip. "Ed…"

Double D turned to the rest of the group. Mario, Tippi, and Princess Peach all looked coldly toward him, but seemed a bit sympathetic. There gaze was fleeting however, as they were focused first and foremost on the assignment and had no time to console the child. Nazz looked hurt, but at the same time appeared to at least understand why the sockheaded boy had had said what he said, but still offered little or no pity.

Sarah looked sad, yet it did not because of Double D. However, she looked sad for some unknown reason. The red head flashed a brief smile at Double D for reasons the egg head himself didn't quite understand.

Mario stepped up to the next entryway. Slowly, he pushed on the wood that held the gateway firm and opened up the entrance. Inside the entrance was what looked like a starry sky; it was almost like a metaphorical pathway into the universe. The boys and Tippi was unfazed, having seen it before, but the girls were awestruck. Never before had they seen such a spectacle of wonder and amazement.

With no time to savor the mysterious entry and it indescribable magic, the seven humans and pixl wandered into the mist, awaiting the surprise that lurked for them beyond the portal their next journey.

…

The first thing that the protagonists noticed was the muddy silt and water which was seeping through their boots. Their eyes fought with the light to readjust to their surroundings, eventually winning the battle and receiving their first few glances at the environment.

The place struck a chord with the cul-de-sac children who were immediately reminded of the creek back in their old home. The water around their thighs was a frothy mixture of grainy orange dirt and silt with rotting vegetation floating in the gentle tides of the water. The land around them was flat and submerged in about a foot of the soupy liquid. Various plants such as spindly trees, stick like plants, and cattails jutted from the waters that filled their soaking wet shoes. In the distance, there appeared to be some hills which looked pleasantly drier than the area which they were in now.

"Good lord, this place is so dank and unsani-"

"Keep it to yourself; sockhead," Eddy butted, cutting off Double D. The capped Ed boy lowered his head, not bothering to speak.

Tippi tried to ignore the two children and announced a piece of good news. "We are very close the Pure Heart," the butterfly announced. "It can't be more than two miles north of here."

"That's-a great," Mario answered. "This o' should-a be a piece o' cake." Mario said enthusiastically.

"Except for the fact we gotta walk though this muck," Peach countered, trying to pull her leg from the suction tight stew at her legs. The other ground laden heroes noticed too that their feet were indeed nearly glued in place by the encompassing waters. Just taking two steps took almost three times the effort as it would've on stable ground.

"Guess we'll be receiving a work out here after all." Nazz groaned, yanking her leg from the water and taking a step forward.

"I hate exercise," Eddy grumbled as he shimmied his way through the gooey water.

"If only I had a ladle I could eat this gravy stew," Ed said as looked yearningly at the water below him.

The Princess cringed. "Uh… well- Ed is it?"

"That's what is says on my underwear," Ed replied stupidly. "Don't wear it out, because I can't afford another pair."

"Uh… okay…" Princess Peach answered. "Well- you can't exactly drink this water because it's-"

"Your right Queen Lady," Ed said. "I need a fork because I am a Russian."

"This is stupid," Eddy mumbled.

"Unproductive is more like it," Tippi replied. "We shouldn't dawdle. The Pure Heart is very close. I can sense it calling us."

"Calling?" Nazz asked. "The Pure Hearts are alive?"

"Never mind," Tippi discouraged further questioning. "We should start moving."

"Yeah, let's-a go." Mario waved his hand forward and began to direct the team through the sludge in an army style march.

…

As they marched toward the horizon, the heroes noticed that the place they were trekking towards was a large, red mansion, nestled in the hills to the east. "Thank goodness we'll get to be out of this muck!" Sarah proclaimed. "Maybe we'll get a fancy dinner and a nice place to sleep."

"Do you think they have chickens?" asked Ed.

"I've always wanted to stay in a mansion," Nazz said. "I wonder what it's like."

"Not to sound like spoiled bimbo, but I am getting homesick for my palace," Peach commented. "It reminds me of Toadsworth and all the others."

"Maybe they'll give us money for saving the universe!" Eddy exclaimed.

"Don't get your hopes up yet," Mario told the others. "We don't who lives there," Mario said ominously.

Keeping at least several paces at a time behind the group, Double D bowed his head and moved slowly though the slushy water. _'Let them forget about me,' _Double D thought to himself. _'With one brash comment, I've lost my only two friends in the world, and quite possibly have ruined any chance of making peace with Nazz and Sarah.'_

He looked up at the adults in the group. Mario and Peach were obviously ashamed Double D, but it was more of a disappointed look on their faces than anything. Tippi seemed more understanding than the other two, but was far too occupied with her duties as guide to the Pure Heart to offer him much consolation. They weren't the ones affected anyway. Double D wanted to win back his friends, but knew there would be little chance of that at the moment.

Eddy glared back at the capped boy. He grimaced at the child and turned back forward. Pity Double D he would not. Eddy was perfectly content seeing Double D as an outcast. _'If sockhead wants to dis my family, then fine,'_ Eddy thought to himself. _'I'm fine with seeing him suffer in the background.'_

"Eddy…" Ed moped to his friend. Eddy looked at his rank smelling companion. "Double D looks lonely."

"Why is that our problem?" Eddy asked.

"Aren't we his friends?" Ed asked in reply.

"Gee Ed, last time I checked," Eddy raised his voice for Double D to hear. "Friends don't call each other out on their families!"

"But he said he didn't mean it," Ed said.

"Oh, grow up," Eddy snapped back. "You saw the look in his eyes when he said that; you know he meant what he said." Ed frowned. "The longer it the takes you to accept it, the longer I'm gonna have to put up with you, so knock it off."

Ed's face quivered with sadness. The tall boy then bent his back and began to sulk, walking away from his tiny friend. Eddy wanted to offer up some sympathy, but stopped himself and rolled his eyes. "Aw, he'll get over it."

Eddy jerked his left leg out of the vacuum like water, only to feel a sharp pain zip up his appendage. Eddy groaned and looked down at his thigh. Though he wasn't an expert on injuries, the Ed boy could immediately tell the swamp was having adverse effects on the gash Fracktail had given him.

Red stains had begun to appear on his soggy bandages and oozing trails of blood had begun to cascade down his leg. Mosquitoes and flies were beginning to accumulate around his leg, and Eddy could feel his thigh start to itch. "Hey!" Eddy shouted up to Mario and the other forerunners of the group. "My leg is bleeding!"

Mario, Peach, and Tippi halted, turned around, and treaded through the sloshing water back to Eddy. They moved Eddy onto a low lying tree branch to keep his hemorrhaged area out of the dirty waters.

Peach examined his thigh. The bandage was filthy and barely hanging onto the boy's skin. She quickly removed it. Eddy's leg wasn't bleeding too profusely, but it was prone to infection in this environment and the Princess was frightened that the swarming insects could carry disease. "I'll have to rewrap it." She surmised. "Mario, get out the bandages and disinfectant."

The Italian took a roll of waterproof cotton wraps, tape, and a bottle of alcohol out of Princess Peach's backpack and handed it to the blonde lady. "Double D, help me with this," Peach insisted.

Double D looked at Eddy, who did not as much as glance at the cap wearing Ed, and then back at Peach. Figuring he could help apply the alcohol, he replied. "Alright," Double D treaded through the suction like, soupy swamp and up to the rest of the group.

The boy took the disinfectant from the Princess and light dabbed it into Eddy's wound with a cloth. Eddy winced and gave Double D a foul look. _'Well, this most certainly won't help repair our friendship.' _Double D said to himself. Peach then tightly bound Eddy's leg in the bandages and sealed it off with the medical tape.

"I shouldn't-a have-a let you come," Mario referred to Eddy. "I thought I gave-a your o' leg enough-a time to o' heal." Mario shook his head. "Clearly I-a was-a mistaken." Mario turned to Ed. "Ed, you'll-a have to o' carry Eddy until-a we reach-a the mansion."

"What's that?" Nazz's voice stirred commotion among the group. The girl was narrowing her eyes towards the hills in the distant. Everyone looked in her direction. A small line appeared to be overshadowing the bottom wedge of the mountains.

"What is that?" Sarah asked.

"It looks like a wall," Tippi noticed.

"I think it's getting bigger." Nazz said. The wall had grown by several inches on the horizon, doubling in size by the second.

"Guys, what's happening to the water?" Sarah questioned. The water level around the feet of the kids was beginning to shrink. Something was drawing the water back. The water was now only about as high as the kids' mid thigh level.

More signs of danger began to occur. Red fish wish large yellow lips and bulging eyes (Cheep-cheeps as Mario and Peach knew them) swamp in large hoards as fast as they could away from the growing mass, despite the fact the water level was now only just over their body size. The floating bubble creatures from the previous world and goombas and koopas with wings were all fleeing, paying no mind the heroes. Something was off.

The heroes looked back at the growing mass. Upon a second inspection, it was not just getting larger… it was getting closer! "Oh lord! A tidal wave!" Double D shrieked in fear.

"What?" Peach asked in confusion. "That's impossible. We're in a flat valley."

"Evil Tim has beckoned us!" Ed shouted in absurd joy.

"We have to run!" Eddy yelled in terror.

Mario looked at the approaching barrier of water. It was far too late for retreat now. The immense blockade of liquid had to be at least thirty feet tall and stretched nearly from end to end of the visible horizon. They'd have twenty seconds, maybe, until it reached them. Whatever hope of escape they'd had was long gone.

"Too late," Mario warned the others. "Tippi, you've-a gotta fly," Mario instructed her. "Fly high up! We can't-a risk losing o' you!" Timidly, the pixl obey. Tippi zipped up into the air, going higher and higher until she was but a dot to those on the group.

"What're we supposed to do?" Eddy shouted in fear.

"Brace-a for impact!" Mario improvised. No sooner than ten seconds after he said that, the water collided with the humans, scattering them thousands of feet, even miles from each other; possibly taking a few of them to their watery grave.

…

Mere feet from the mansion stood three anthropomorphic creatures, admiring their handiwork as the tidal wave swept through the swampy plains.

The first one was a male lizard with slimy blue skin. His eyes were a piercing green and his fingers were long, pointy, and webbed. He wore a skin tight, black dive suit and his mouth and chin were covered by a portable oxygen mask.

The second animal was a male crane. He wore no clothes like the others, and had with him no accessories. Oddly enough, the crane was a bright red color and had amber eyes with red pupils, alluding to a deep secret about the creature.

The final creature was a female otter with brown fur and white paws. She stood on her hind legs like a man and had blue eyes. She wore a blue robe which concealed her many long daggers. In her hands were more knives. She appeared to be the leader.

"Fan out into the swamp and find what's left of them, and if they're not dead, kill them." The otter order. "Remember what Mimi said; we're to present her their bodies or we're not paid."

"We heard yah the first time," the crane responded. The crane took off to the skies and began to scan the area. The lizard dived into the murky swam waters and swam around like a fish. The otter simply walked casually into the swamp, offering no means of stealth.

* * *

><p><em>I will try and get one, if not two more chapters up over Christmas break. Also, what do you guys think of the deviation from the original Super Paper Mario story with the assassins?<em>


	18. The Assassins

_I'm really happy this came out as quick as it did. I added the assassins a way of stretching out the Mimi and Merlee arc and as a way to add more conflict to this area. Also, I realized I've been spelling the name, 'Blumiere', as 'Blumeire' this whole time. It's not too huge a problem, so I don't really see the need to change how I'm spelling it._

_On some notes: Minor edits concerning wording and dialogue made to chapter 17, no serious edits to plot made through changes - fixing grammar/spelling errors in previous chapters_

_As of now, this story has hit over 5,000 views. Thank you all for your views and reviews._

_I hope you enjoy the latest installment of the tale of Ed, Edd n Eddy and Mario. Merry late Christmas!_

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Eighteen: The Assassins

**…**

**"Blumeire?"**

**…**

**"Blumeire?"**

**…**

**"Huh? What is he doing with… a human!"**

**…**

**"No! Such insolence! That kind of love between species is forbidden."**

**…**

**"I cannot believe what I am witnessing. I must report this to our King at once."**

* * *

><p>Sarah gargled and coughed as she pulled her sodden body from the water. She grasped a low-lying tree branch and hauled herself from the forceful carnage which gripped her body to the water. She lied down across the branch and let her breath steady, restricting her movement so she could regain her strength.<p>

Sarah's mind raced with questions as to what happened mere minutes ago. She failed to understand how that tidal appeared so suddenly or how it could've even formed in this place. Her mind then ran with concern for Ed. Where was her brother? Was he safe? Was he… dea- "No!" Sarah spat, coughing as she spoke. "No. Ed's fine. Ed's…" That was all she could manage to say before she ran out of breathe again.

_'Ed… Double D… where are you two?' _She asked herself. _'Please be safe.'_ She begged internally.

The red headed girl continued to rest for several more minutes, breathing calming, allowing her lungs to inflate and remove themselves of any water that might've entered them when she was caught in the wave.

Slowly, Sarah recuperated. She sat herself upright, readjusting her tender body to the uncomfortable weight of gravity. The girl felt dizzy. Sarah took more time to steady her body, trying to allow her vision and senses to level out.

When she had reached a state of recovery, or was at the very least alert and capable of limited movement, she began to fully assess her situation and surroundings. Aside from some minor scratches, Sarah looked relatively fine, but her suggested internal damage which afflicted her throat and lungs felt less reassuring. Though breathing normally, Sarah felt a tiny burning sensation in the back of her throat every time she sucked in air. Furthermore, her chest burned every time her Though Tholungs took in oxygen.

Knowing she could not properly diagnose or treat herself, Sarah began to examine her supplies. Her backpack containing her food, tent, and equipment had been torn straight off her back. The red headed girl scanned the water for her supplies, but could not find the backpack anywhere in sight. She knew it would be foolish to try and find it.

However, Sarah's pyramid shaped metal container still hung around her shoulder. She had no idea how that had managed to stay put. She unlatched the top and looked into the metal case. The explosives were still dry, but Sarah remembered she hadn't the darnedest idea about how to use them. She cursed at herself.

_'God damn it!' _Sarah scolded herself. _'What the hell was I thinking? "Come safe Jimmy, everything will be fine!"? I'm ten! I'm such an idiot. I'm alone, and I have no supplies or weapons I can use. I can't believe how dumb I am.'_ Sarah began to cry. She felt the hot, salty tears run down her face, burning the various scrapes that lined her cheeks.

The girl balled up in agony on her lone tree branch and wept, unsure what to do.

…

The Princess' legs were sunk deep within the watery mud. She was stuck up to her thighs in the sandy pit of mud and silt. She was in relatively the same spot she was before the tidal wave hit. Perhaps she's scooted back twenty or thirty feet, but she'd not moved much. It was at this point that Peach finally took notice of Mario and Nazz. The two clung tightly to her waist, also buried deep within the sand.

Princess Peach tried to remember what happened as the wall of water had struck them. It was as if instinct had taken over at that moment. Using her umbrella/spear hybrid, she squared off against the water and dug her feet into the shifty grounds. When the wave hit, the water pushed her back, forcing her legs deep into the muddy ground as she scooted backwards. The water soon passed over her and she was relatively unharmed. Mario and Nazz must have grabbed a hold of her during the chaos.

Peach slowly lowered her weapon and closed her umbrella. Timidly, like rabbits, Mario and Nazz let go of Peach's waist. The three found each other stuck almost shoulder deep in the water, with nearly half of their legs being engulfed by the sink pit referred to as a ground below them.

The three struggled to free their captive legs from the muddy floor below them. It took nearly fifteen minutes to wretch their feet from the tightly knit sandy floor. Not to mention, the three were left tired and off balance.

The three surveyed the carnage left behind in the wave's wake. There had been many trees knocked over and the water was slightly cleaner, making it easier to move. Three humans seemed well enough, having no serious injuries other than exhaustion. Thanks to the protection of Peach's dual weapon, their backpacks and supplies were still firmly in place and they'd escaped the worst of the disaster. But yet, what could be said for their friends?

As the heroes caught their breathes, Nazz spoke.

"Are we all that's left?" Nazz asked; her voice scratchy and somber.

Mario nodded. "The others were-a swept-a away." He said.

"We gotta find them." Nazz stated, on the verge of tears. "They could be hurt."

The Italian closed his eyes. How was he supposed to say something like this to such a young girl who'd already lost so much?

"We- we're going back for them?" Nazz sputtered, tears flowing from her face like a leaky faucet. "R- Right?

Peach lightly stroked the blonde girl's cheek. The Princess frowned and spoke in a whisper. "Oh Nazz… I'm sorry. You know we have to go on-"

"NO!" Nazz shrieked, interrupting Peach. "We have to find them!"

"We're in o' danger here," Mario told firmly. "That-a wave wasn't-a natural. I think o' we're-a being-a followed by someone-a powerful and o' dangerous. We've-a got to-a clear this-a place ASAP."

"But Ed, Eddy, Sarah and Double D are out there," Nazz argued.

"We can't-a risk going after-a them."

"We can't go on without them. That prophecy needs you and the Eds to fulfill it. I know that much." Nazz stated. Mario opened his mouth to speak, but instead drew out a long breathe. She was right. Ed, Edd, and Eddy were needed to fulfill the ancient prophecy. It wasn't up for debate anymore. They had no choice but to find the others, and fast. Still, it wasn't safe out here in this swamp. They were disoriented and Mario still believed they were being hunted.

"I will-a look for-a the others." The man in red replied. He turned to the Princess. "You and o' Nazz are-a to-a go straight to-a that o' mansion and-a stay there until I o' get-a back. Do you-a understand?" Peach nodded.

"Hey!" an all too familiar voice popped up. From up above them, a tiny pixl floated down from the sky. She darted left and right with worry over her human companion. The butterfly gracefully flew down to eyelevel with the three humans, looked at each of them anxiously. "Are you guys okay?" Tippi asked. "Mario, are you hurt?"

"We're-a fine." Mario replied, a bit off-taken by Tippi's extra concern for him. "We need-a you to o' fly up-a high and-a look o' for the Eds and-a Sarah."

"Alright Mario," Tippi replied.

"If you can't-a find-a anything in o' two hours, meet-a the girls at-a the manor," Mario further instructed her. "I don't-a want them alone for o' very long." Tippi nodded in agreement. She flapped her wings and slowly rose up into the low hanging clouds, disappearing into the sky as she began her search for the missing children.

Once Tippi was out of sight, Mario turned his attention to the two blonde headed women. "You two know-a what-a you need o' to do." Mario reminded them. "I will-a find o' them. Everything is-a going to be-"

Mario paused. He squinted his eyes and peered out into the distance, moving his left hand above his eyes. Peach and Nazz became frightened. They turned around and tried to look at what their leader had spotted. They saw nothing. "What is it Mario?" the Princess asked. "Do you see something?"

"Yes, he can," Nazz told Peach. "But we can't."

Peach looked confused. She had not been informed of the magical sight which had been granted to Mario and the Eds. "What does that mean? Mario, what is she talking about?"

The Italian drowned out the sounds of his teammates. Using his powers, he could see something shimmering beneath the water. It was a vessel, or body- containing a magic of some sort, hiding underneath the water. The thing was a mere fifty yards from them and was still. Then, it bolted. The beast had reacted to Mario's awareness of its presence, and swam away. Mario knew now that they were being followed; it was no longer safe to split up.

"On-a second o' thought, you girls better-a stay with me." Mario spoke grimly. "Nazz," he turned towards the young girl. "Tell Thoreau to stay alert for any bodies of magic or energy."

…

Tippi coasted through the air, listing left and right. She could see no sign of the Eds or Sarah. Even if she flew right over them, the likelihood she'd be able to spot them at her distance from the ground was slim.

"Oh… where are you guys." Tippi muttered to herself. "Please be okay, you have to make it."

A shadow fell across Tippi's back. Curious as to what could possibly be flying higher than she was; the fairy turned her body upwards. A red crane had flown over the rainbow butterfly, taking no notice of the pixl. The bird looked angry and determined with its narrow eyes trained hard on something in the distance.

Tippi looked in the direction of the bird's flight. It was heading away from the mansion, into the recently decimated swamp fields. _'What bird would head into such a ravaged land?'_ Tippi thought to herself.

…

Ed floated on top of the water lazily, humming to himself about how he was such a great boat. "Boat, boat: down the river like a note! Row, row: pussy cat glow! Orange, orange: like a- um-uh…" Ed thought about the next section of his verse. "-buttered toast!"

BONK!

"Yowch!" Ed shouted as his head collided against a spindly tree. "All hand on deck, me mates; we've sprung a leak." Ed began to sink like a stone. "Dive, dive!" Seconds after he submerged, his head popped from the waters. "Nope, it's just me kids." Ed laughed.

"Ed!"

Ed became confused. His head twisted and his face became dopey. "Hello?"

"Ed!"

"Santa?" Ed asked with uncertainty. The large, but dimwitted boy then smiled. "Santa! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy… I've been a good boy this year." The child said with glee. Ed pulled himself onto a floating log and then sat cross-legged on it. "I would like an Action Sports comic book, a space fist with robot pumping action, and for the world not to end and Sarah and my parents to be right beside me."

"Ed, help me!" Ed looked around his surroundings. "Above you, Ed!" the voice screamed. Ed looked up and was greeted with his hat wearing companion. Double D's hat was wedged between forked tree branches. The Ed boy was desperately fighting to grip his hat, trying to keep his dermis hidden. His backpack was gone, but his sack that contained his sheath and arrows remained. "Oh thank goodness." Double D sighed. "Ed, you have to get me down from here."

"Double D," Ed called to his friend in excitement. Just as he was about to ramble in his usual cheerful banter, his face fell and a looming shadow drowned his face. He lowered his head and arched his back forward.

"Ed, what're you doing? I need assistance," Double D cried out.

"But Eddy said I you didn't want our help." Ed replied.

"Clearly that statement is refuted by my current predicament at hand!" Double D yelled down from the tree. Ed returned a blank stare. "Ugh! I need help, Ed," Double D called down.

"But Eddy said you didn't deserve our help," Ed told the sockheaded Ed boy. "And you said…"

Double D's heart lurched. "Ed, if I could redo that moment I would take back every letter that spewed forth from my oratory organ, but I just can't do that, and I truly am sorry."

Ed humph'd and turned around in distaste. "Yah, and egg yolk isn't a vegetable."

"Ed, please!" Double D cried as he gripped his hat tighter, feeling the fabric slowly loosening from the tree's grip. "Ed, I am very sorry and I do not deserve your help." The skinny child felt a lurch and the branch shook, his hat barely hanging on the tree. "But you can be the bigger man. Help me and you'll show me that you're better than me."

Ed turned around, thinking over what his ex-friend had said. "Ed, you're the most giving person I know!" Double D pleaded to his friend. "You make sacrifices for your sister that I couldn't conceive doing for someone as anger prone as her. You're the kindest gentle giant in the world. You're my best friend and I can only imagine how much I hurt you." Double D's hat was losing grip fast. "I will do anything to make it up to you, and… and…"

Ed raised an eyebrow. The tree hanging Ed boy blurted out the words faster than he could think them. "You and the Eddy are the most important people in my life. I'm sorry Ed! I'M SO SORRY!"

Ed made a big goofy smile. "Ed forgives all!" Ed shouted, throwing his arms in the air with glee. "Do you need some help Double D?"

"Yes Ed, I'd like that!" Double D called down to Ed. The boy smiled at his triumphant regain of one of his best friends.

A sharp snap echoed through the branches and the sockheaded Ed boy felt himself become weightless. His body plummeted to the ground like a burning aircraft. So caught up in his newly rebounded happiness, it took several moments for Double D to register what had happened. He fell faster than he could react, not even having the time to utter a scream.

Double D did not fell the aftermath of his impact until after it'd happened. Surprisingly, the Ed boy felt no pain. He looked and saw his frail body lying in fetal position atop two long, green sleeves. Double D looked up at his friend and smiled. "Thanks Ed."

"No problem-o," Ed replied. "I'm getting good with catching things that fall from the sky." Ed continued as he set his friend down in the water.

"I skill you'll need to utilize many times in our excursion, I presume." Double D surmised. "Well, I guess we should find the others. How I hope they're okay."

All of the sudden, fog began to blanket the space surrounding the Eds. The mist was unusually dry and did not bring a cooling sensation which is usually attributed to the arrival of fog. As their vision began to blur, Double D realized that this was not a natural occurrence. It wasn't just unusual sensations that the fog brought with it that struck a chord Double D. Air could not just suddenly conjure up water vapor thick enough to cloud one's vision at a moment's notice.

Double D pulled his bow out of his special container. He felt around for his arrows, but they were missing. Double D grabbed his holster and peered into its contents. The space was empty. "Drat!" Double D muttered, realizing his arrows were lost in the great tidal wave. _'Ed must still have his axe!' _Double D brainstormed.

"Ed, draw your axe." Double D ordered his friend. "I have feeling we're not alone."

"Okey dokey, Double D," Ed responded. He reached into his coat pocket and frowned. "My axe ran away from the flood." Ed told his friend.

Double D's blood turned to ice. The two were completely unarmed…

"Use your powers, Ed," Double D suggested.

The two boys used their eyesight abilities, but their vision was not improved. Still, nothing was clear. Their line of vision hadn't been increased in the slightest and they could still not make anything out clearly. Clearly a powerful spell had been cast over them; so powerful that it could overcome their abilities given by Bestovious. Sighing in defeat, the two powered down their magic vision.

Then suddenly, something caught the boys' attention through the smog. A figure perched itself atop a floating object a great distance away from them. It was barely visible through the foggy air, but Double D and Ed could make out what appeared to be the general appearance of a bird.

"It's a crane; I think… possibly a stork." Double D summed up.

"But I'm not ready for parenthood!" Ed exclaimed.

The bird faced the boys and opened its great wings. The insides of the crane's wings were very much visible through the mist, glowing in a bright crimson red. Long spiraling patterns of symbols, wavy lines, and strange figures dotted inside of the bird's wingspan. This began to frighten Double D, realizing he and Ed were falling into a trap.

The hat wearing child tried to grab his friend and make a run for it, but the two kids felt their vision blur and their eyes deepen. Strange flashes of color illuminated their line of vision and they felt themselves becoming dizzy. "D- don't look at it… Ed…" Double D told his friend. It was no use though. The children were paralyzed, forced to gaze upon the hypnotizing images.

"Ed… t- try and fight it…" Double D begged. "Ed? Ed!"

In his peripheral vision, Double D found his friend passed out, floating on top of the water (thankfully face up). The Ed boy began to sweat in fear, knowing if he did not act soon, he too would be bestowed with the same fate.

The boy tried to move his arms toward his head. Maybe if he pulled his beanie over his head, he could resist the bird's power and try to flee with Ed. But the light became stronger and the symbols that adorned the wings of the aerial creature became more beckoning. Double D became frozen in place, a slave to the ever growing influence of the crane's control.

In a last ditch attempt to fight the illusion, Double D tried to blink to use magical sight powers in hopes that would break the bird's grip on him. The child found he couldn't even more his eyelids. He'd been too late to act and now he was totally stationary as his psychedelic visions empowered him. Unable to contain himself with the vast imagery and sleep inducing lulls, Double D fainted.

…

Mario and the girls were power walking, closer to running than walking. The Italian tried to get Nazz and the Princess to sprint, but he found the girls could not keep pace with him in the strong suctioned grasp of the knee deep water. Mario had his enchanted vision in use at all times, not daring to release his power. The creature was moving closer and closer to the humans' position.

The hero of the Mushroom Kingdom turned towards the approaching entity. They could not keep at this pace forever and there was no way they could outrun the figure anyway. Mario stopped the girls and spoke to them.

"We're-a going to o' have to-a fight." Mario told his comrades. Nazz nodded and called upon Thoreau's powers; her hand began to glow. Peach looked a little bit skittish. Mario spoke to the Princess. "I've trained-a you o' hard and-a you knew-a we'd o' face trouble," he said to royal woman. "You can-a do this." He reassured her. Peach nodded and grabbed her spear like device.

Mario no longer needed his special eyes to see the oncoming figure. The being was now close enough to be seen moving beneath the water, like a shadow approaching the trio. Peach clenched he weapon tighter, Nazz's fist glowed brighter, and Mario readied himself in an attack stance.

Several yards away from the group, however, the figure stopped. The three looked at the shadow beneath the water in confusion, unsure why it had stopped moving. They remained firm, ready for the beast whenever it decided to strike.

It did not strike, however it made itself known. The creature raised itself out of the water, making itself visible for the humans. The beast was a lizard that stood almost as tall as Mario, or a bit shorter than the average human. It was covered in dark blue shin and had small green eyes. Oddly enough, it wore a skin tight wet suit and covered the lower portion of its face with an oxygen mask. The amphibian appeared to be a male.

"So, you're-a the one who's-a been o' following us," Mario stated.

"Ka riit be zul, nemote' etoshyu do ra'an tull no sa ke ra'ak ti," the lizard replied. He spoke a language that none of the heroes understood. He spoke in a raspy, gruff voice, mostly likely due to the fact he spoke through a mask filter. The language he spoke used emphasis at the vowels, periodic clippings and stops, and was very fast.

"I-a guess you can't-a under-o'-stand us, but understand this!" Mario emphasized. "If you-a try and-a harm o' any of o' us, we-a will _'kill'_ you! Got-a it?"

"Bau tel', no tek shiru! Fae ru do tull hajiku de to'ee heh ra'ak ku rai," The lizard said in a harsh tone. The three waited to see if the lizard would leave them, but it did not move, responding with a harsh stare and assumed a battle stance of its own.

There would be no peace with this enemy. The prophetic ones readied themselves to charge at the amphibian, but as they sprung forward at the enemy, they found themselves nailed in place and suddenly feeling numb. As the humans looked down at their legs, they had found the water around their bodies had been turned to solid ice.

Underneath his mask, the assassin smirked.

…

The otter walked casually through the swamp. She was confident in her abilities as a coldblooded murderer and felt her underlings' need for stealth and surprise was weak. The otter knew she was stronger and more powerful than both her partners. Being the only one in the group without powers, it gave her pride that was the best.

She looked to her left. Three ant sized figures could be seen in the water, struggling to move as an amphibious creature readied to deliver the killing blow. To her right, a thick cloud of smoke had enveloped nearly a quarter square mile.

Her partners should be finishing off the targets soon.

It had been obvious to the assassin that their targets had survived the tidal wave. Call it a gut feeling or premonition or just a pure coincidence, but she had been correct. Now the otter was combing the rest of swamp for the last two humans.

She reached into her robe pocket and withdrew a picture. The image captured a battle in a desert scenario which detail five distinct humans and a butterfly battling off an army of reptilian creatures and spore monsters. Mimi advised her to kill the humans in the photograph and the insect if she could find it.

The otter studied the faces in the picture. The lizard would be fighting the Italian man and blonde girl, plus their woman counterpart who was traveling with them. The crane would be sending the hat wearing boy and the boy with a green coat to sleep before murdering them. All that was left was to find the pint sized child in the yellow shirt and eliminate him.

She smirked, confident that this would be her group's biggest payout yet. Normally it'd strike her as odd that someone would be willing to fork over so many rupees to remove a target, but at the rate this woman was paying the three of them, she wasn't complaining. The assassin liked this Mimi character. In fact, she even let the trio stay the night in her mansion, even after she killed two or three prisoners for sport.

The prisoners could all care less about each other, anyway. They were focused on that void which had appeared in the sky around a week or two ago. In fact, ever since that dark vortex appeared in the sky, people seemed to be throwing away their money and their futures as if the world was ending. The mammal just assumed it was rare astrological phenomenon and enjoyed watching the citizens of the land overreact.

The otter reached into her robe and retrieved two knives from one of her pockets. She threw the two knives, not even looking at her targets. The assassin skewered a small bird and a tiny lizard without even looking. She chuckled at the thought of her partners flinching and shrinking down at the sight of her killing their cousin species.

Suddenly, the anthropomorphic mammal's ears picked up sound. The sounds of sobbing began to fill up the otter's ears, causing the hearing organs to twitch slightly. She smiled, grabbed several weapons and readying herself for final kill.

Quick as lightning, the mammal began to dash towards the direction of noise. She was nearly running on top of the water. She could hear the crying increase and the shape of a human imprinted the horizon. The anthro drew her arms back and waited for the moment to release her kunai knives. Something however stopped her.

At the last moment, she skidded to a halt and lowered her arms. That was not the boy in the picture. It was a tiny red headed girl with a pink tank top and jean shorts. From a great distance, the otter had mistaken the sobs of the girl for that of male voice. Even though the assassin could've only been perhaps thirty feet away, the girl had still not noticed the otter in her misery.

The assassin quickly thought of killing her for a bit of fun, but decided against it. There was no sport in killing a defenseless child who was too daft to see her, much less fight back. Besides, the otter's job came first; she still had to find the short boy in the picture.

_'Let her live,' _thought the anthropomorphic mammal. _'She's no harm to us anyway.'_


	19. When the Waters ran Red

_If you're wondering why it's March and I'm only now just updating, well, it's pretty much all due to wrestling. I love the sport, but it took up so much of my time. Now that the season's over I can focus on writing this story and hopefully not postpone this story again for another three months. Also, this chapter will be unfortunately short. I apologize._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Nineteen: When the Waters Ran Red

"**Timpani, do you love me?"**

"**Yes Blumeire."**

"**Sincerely, and with all your heart?"**

"**Of course, for all of eternity, I will love you."**

…

"**What's the matter, Blumeire?"**

"**What of your people, and that of mine?"**

"**What does it matter about them?"**

"**They would forbid this- or… us. A human and a-"**

"**I don't care about our species or what they think. I love you, and that's all matters."**

* * *

><p>Mario struggled to kick his feet free, but his legs wouldn't budge. The ice was far too thick to shatter against normal kicks and struggling. Peach desperately chipped away at the ice around her thighs, but that too had little effect on the frozen liquid. Nazz punched away at the ice with Thoreau's magic, but not even the power of pixl was able to break through the frost.<p>

The blue lizard closed his eyes and stretched out his left hand, concentrating hard on his powers. His long pointy finger trembled and twitched. Blobs of water had begun to arise from the swamps soupy mixture below. Three round masses of water had gathered in midair, leaving the heroes to stare in fear and awe.

There was no doubt that this creature was the one who'd caused the tsunami the tear through the swamp. Mario was visibly frightened by the power this amphibious animal possessed. Perhaps that wave was only a mere sample of the lizard's power. They were trapped, at the mercy of this cold blooded killer.

The water spheres had begun to metamorphosis. The balls of water began to flatten, turning in to large disks. The liquid then hardened and froze, forming three sharp blades made of ice. The weapons raised themselves at neck level with the humans, writing them down as next in line for an untimely execution. The human's stared in horror at the plates as the ice called out for their blood.

The lizard opened his eyes, narrowing them at his targets. He raised his arm back, readying for the kill. "Si'i gao!" The assassin shouted he launched his arm forward, sending the projectiles flying at the heads of the prophesized humans.

Peach and Nazz were left frozen in terror as they stared at their untimely doom. Mario on the other hand reacted without thinking, moving at a blaring speed in order to save his teammates. Reaching into a pocket in the side of his backpack, he grasped a handful of tiny trinkets.

Sifting through the objects in his palm, Mario grabbed a tulip shaped device, and without hesitation, held his arm up, closed his eyes and threw the attack item upon the ice surrounding their ankles.

A whirlwind of fire erupted around the trio. The heroes sunk into the water as the blaze swarmed through the air. The projectiles melted before they could even get near the trio. The three humans watched from below the surface of the water as the dazzling flames exploded, waned, and died just above their heads.

The whole tornado of flames went on for nearly a minute, and by the time the group resurfaced, they were gasping for air and trying to stay conscious from the lack of oxygen.

The heroes had no time for rest though, as the smog cleared from the air, the assassin had readied himself for a counterstrike. Three long winding tails of water was shot out of the lizard's arm, propelling itself at the tired humans. Barely able to sense the incoming attacks, the three humans were unable to respond before being shot straight on with the torrents of water.

Mario felt himself launch several yards backwards. His back collided with the surface of the water and he felt himself go numb. A brief warm sensation ran down his face. Gently reaching for his face, he wiped his face with his and hand and looked upon it. Blood ran down his fingers, indicating the water had smashed his face with a force tremendous enough to cause his skin to break.

Ignoring his pains, the Italian sat up, eager to help his friends. He found Peach, clinging to a tall bush in order to keep herself upright as a steady flow of blood protruded from her nose and upper lip; but where was Nazz? Before he could look around for the girl, a whizzing sound entered his ears and a feeling of dizziness and confusion overcame him.

Feeling his chest, Mario felt his gloved hand brush upon a deep gash. He winced, as a sharp jab of pain travelled through his system, igniting his nerves with storms of pain and fire. Mario's skin had been lacerated, no doubt by a shard of ice sent upon him by the assailant.

The hero of the Mushroom Kingdom fought to continue his battle, but every movement he made burned his core and wracked his body with unbearable pain. Mario was now just fighting to stand as to protect his wound from the infection filled waters.

"Ti'u hi rachi ko na." Mario flinched and jerked his head rightwards. The blue skinned lizard was standing beside him. Underneath his face mask, he smirked with satisfaction at the man's agony. "Ket chi' ja ke'i ho ba'ia wa ke'." The lizard continued, his tone laden with overconfidence.

Despite the lack of understanding, it was clear just from the assassin's tone and the look in his eyes suggested that the lizard was taunting Mario, mocking him for his injury and weakness. Mario scowled at the creature and then balled up his fists, despite knowing that in his current state it would be fruitless to challenge the killer.

"Heh…" the assassin scoffed. "Si'yo su la' kenpo." The lizard's hands rose to his sides. He began to breathe slowly and form various gestures and signs with his hands. At length, orbs of water began to rise from the surface of the swamp. What appeared to be as many as a hundred tiny spheres of water floated up to around midsection of the assassin. The orbs hardened and became dense pellets of ice, all ready to be chucked mercilessly at Mario.

Mario gaped in fear at the sight of the newly formed weapons. The telekinetic powers that this amphibian wielded over water were truly frightening. As the lizard readied himself to strike the final blow, Mario covered his gash, knowing it was the most important place to protect.

The orbs then unexpectedly fell from the air, melting as they hit water due to the lack of influence from the lizard's powers to keep them frozen.

The assassin's arms had been bounded behind his back by Nazz, who in a desperate attempt to restrain the killer was using both of her hands to hold his left arm behind his back and using a magical hand created by Thoreau to hold down his left arm. The lizard appeared to be successfully fighting her grip and close to shoving her off, until he felt his airway become constricted.

The Princess had taken her spear and used the metal rod as a means to choke the creature but putting the pole against his neck and pushing back against him. The force of the strangulation that the lizard received knocked the oxygen mask right off his face. The assassin now began tire as he fought for air. He began to fight Nazz's hold against him less and less. For a while, it seemed as though the killer was slowly giving up seemed as though he would pass out at any moment.

Then, in a rather unexpected turn, the lizard began to snarl and scowl, angered by his restraining and began to violently thrash about. When the beast found he could still not shake himself free, he used his control over water to: in simplest terms: make the water around him explode.

In reality, what looked like an explosion was most likely just the extreme outward release of large amount of water from a set point. Nevertheless, it was enough to throw Nazz and Peach from assassin's back and free himself from their grip.

The three humans were shot far and wide. Mario was thrown far back, colliding against the head of a tree, giving him yet another injury to attend to. Yet once again, he found himself unable to treat himself as the lizard had once again caught up to the hero. Giving the human no time to think, the lizard grabbed Mario by the neck and forced the man's entire body underwater, attempting to violently drown Mario as to appease he anger.

At first, Mario figured that Peach or Nazz would arrive to save him soon enough. Only then did he remember that he been flung behind a tangle of bushes and shrubbery, which gave the killer the perfect concealment to finish his deed. Also, who know how far away the Prince and Nazz were from him now. Instincts began to kick in as Mario's adrenaline rose.

Mario fought and struggled, but the assassin's arm was strong, pinning the man to the waterbed with ease. Even through all of his kicking and thrashing, Mario found himself unable to escape. As the Italian continued to struggle, he found himself becoming lightheaded much faster that he normally would be. In his daze, he finally remembered that he was bleeding out through his chest. For fear of bleeding out, Mario began to thrash harder than ever.

To keep Mario still, the lizard took several of his fingers and scraped them violent across the gash that was imprinted upon the Italian man's chest. The man cried in pain, but only managed to swallow a bunch of water which took up space in his lungs, ridding him of space for oxygen.

'_No… not yet…' _Mario told himself groggily as he tried convincing himself to fight on. _'Luigi, Peach… the kids- I… I've gotta…'_ No longer could Mario form clear thoughts as his brain began to shut down, with no oxygen to process his thoughts.

His hands fell to his side, gently drifting to the floor of the basin as he now only gently kicked against his assailant. _'No.'_ Mario told himself through the clouds forming in his mind. _'Not now.'_ He felt his hand across the murky ground, eventually grasping a flat stone. _'I will not die here!'_ With the last joules of energy in his body, Mario swung his arm up and scraped the rock against the skin of the lizard.

For several seconds, the assassin did not move. Then, he collapsed, falling on top of the defeated Italian. Mario felt the water become warm and heavy, almost as if it had been tainted with another kind of fluid.

Mario had lost all focus. His brain was so numbed and so asphyxiated, it could no longer tell his body to move; not that it would matter anyway. Mario wouldn't have had the energy to sit up get his body above the water level. With his last thoughts on Princess Peach, Mario slipped into unconsciousness.

…

Peach stood up, steadying herself against the thick stew of water and decay beneath her with her spear/umbrella hybrid. Once the Princess had gotten her balance back, she hoisted her spear tip into the air and readied to defend herself against the next blow from the nearby assassin. For several minutes though, she found that all other attacks had persisted. Something was wrong.

"Peach!" The Princess shifted around, finding an equally confused Nazz rushing toward her. "Where is he?" the young girl asked frantically. "Where's the lizard dude?"

Peach shook her head. "I'd like to know that myself. For that matter, where's Mario?"

Almost as if coincidentally, the water around the girl's thighs began to slowly increase in temperature. Shocked by the sudden warming of the liquid around them, they began to study the water which moved around their legs. It had grown a shade darker and felt just a touch heavier to move through now.

Intrigued by the turn of events, Nazz lightly dabbed her index and middle finger into the water and swirled them around lightly. It definitely felt thicker than before. Nazz removed her fingers from the water only to find something that mortified her and Princess Peach beyond belief. A sticky red substance ran over Nazz's fingers. It was blood; and a great deal of it too.

"Mario!" Peach shrieked in horror.

The Princess and Nazz began to follow the trail of blood, frantically hoping the worse had not befallen their leader. The blood trail had been greatly distorted by the movement of the waters, but there was indication a heavy amount was being released from an area behind a group of shrubbery and tall plants.

Inside the shrouded potion of land, they found two shadows residing beneath the water, one lying on top of the other. Peach felt her skills as a caregiver takeover. She hauled herself to the two masses lying below the water's surface. Grabbing the first mass, she pulled it out of the water. It was the assassin, dead…

His eyes were wide open with shock and his mouth was gaping in either pain or surprise, maybe both. The cause of death was easy to identify. The lizard's neck had been sliced open with a razor sharp object, opening both his pulmonary artery and pulmonary vein. Death would've occurred within seconds, if not instantaneously.

The Princess did not focus on the beast for long though, shoving the water bending beast aside, back into the polluted water basin to decay. Peach pulled Mario from the water, hoping that he still showed signs of life. At first, it did not look promising. He was in no way dead, but most of vital signs, including breathing had stopped. The only sign of life was a faint pulse which emitted from the Mushroom Kingdom's hero.

In an act of desperation, Peach began to perform lifesaving CPR on Mario. She pounded on his head, trying to increase his blood flow and giving him air through mouth to mouth resuscitation. For five minutes, she kept up the act, trying to save the life of the man who'd always saved hers. She had convinced herself failure was not an option.

Then, Mario began to cough. His eyes weakly opened up and he offered Peach a weak smile. The Princess, extremely happy that hero was still alive, returned his smile. Peach's eyes watered and salty tears began to drop from her eyes, landing gently on Mario's face. Mario then closed his eyes and went to sleep, exhausted from his bought with the blue skinned villain.

Realizing her battle to save Mario was not over yet, Peach refocused her attention on Mario's injuries. She unstrapped his overall straps and took off his shirt. The gash was bad and need serious treatment which the Princess so badly wished she could offer Mario.

Reaching into her backpack which now barely stayed attached to the Princess' shoulders, she reached inside for her bandages. They were soggy and flimsy now, but they were all she had to stop the bleeding. Wrapping the paper as tightly as she could, she put Mario's shirt and overall straps back on, hoping they would keep the wraps dry.

Princess Peach turned to her teammate, the young blonde girl who'd been looking ill since she witnessed Peach grab the assassin's cold, lifeless body from the swampy waters. "Nazz," Peach said firmly to Nazz, trying to sound both motherly and authoritative. "I need you to bring Mario to that mansion." The Princess pointed to the house which fell upon the hills in the distance.

"I- I can't…" Nazz stuttered, unconfident in herself. "I just…"

"Mario needs serious medical help which I can't provide for him with soggy bandages," the Princess responded. She laid her hand upon Nazz's shoulder. "I need to find the others, but someone needs to get Mario to safety. I know you can do."

Nazz shook with fright, fearing that the man who'd led them through all of their previous troubles successfully would die within hours. She bit her tongue, afraid of more killers lurking within the dreaded waters of the swamp.

"_It's alright, babe," _Thoreau told his host soothingly. _"I won't let anything happen to you or red cap; that's a promise."_

'_I'm so scared…' _Nazz thought, telling Thoreau her inner feelings. _'I'm just a coward.'_

"_Come on, you've faced a red-faced freak and a cyber dragon so far," _Thoreau reminded her. _'Being scared is not the same as being a coward. A brave person can admit they're scared, but act stronger because of it."_

Realizing she needed to be brave for her friends now more than ever, Nazz shook her head 'yes.' Peach smiled and looked reassuringly at the girl. "Alright, I know you can do it." She told Nazz. "Everything will be alright. I'll be back with you two at the mansion by nightfall."

And with that, the two parted ways. Peach wandered off into the swamp to search for the rest of the cul-de-sac children while Nazz used Thoreau's aura to increase her strength, allowing her to carry Mario through the swamp and back to the mansion.

Together, they left behind the decaying corpse of the blue-skinned lizard assassin. For many more hours, the body of the killer would make the surrounding landscape stain red.


	20. The Fate of the Pixls

_As of two months ago, this story has officially become a year old and had reached over 7,000 hits. This chapter will be extra long, as I need to wrap up a lot of things to move the story along. This chapter came out much sooner than the last one did so… that's a good thing. A lot of people have been favoriting and alerting this story. To all of you who've followed this story the past year or so, I'd like to say thanks and that I hope I can put up another twenty chapters this year. Stay cool, and have a great year._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Twenty: The Fate of the Pixls

**"Blumiere?"**

**…**

**"Bluemiere, is that you?"**

**…**

**"Bluemire…?"**

**…**

***Gasp!***

**"Hello, girl…"**

**…**

* * *

><p>Snap!<p>

The sound of movement reverberated through Sarah's ears. She popped her head up, but no one was in sight. Rubbing her eyes to clear the salty fluids, she looked over her surroundings again; nothing in sight, but miles of swampy marshes and dense wetland. _'I'm going paranoid.' _Sarah thought to herself.

The girl readjusted herself atop her tree branch, sitting upright and calming herself down with short breaths. Sarah looked down at her pyramid shaped container. Grasping it, she held it to her face and studied it. It intrigued Sarah, as she wondered how the simple box full of mysterious weapons constantly took up her attention. Closing her eyes, she pondered on her present dilemma.

In her mind, she pictured Ed, Jimmy, Double D, and all her other friends that was lost and scared like her; but no doubt they were fighting it out, standing up to their foes. They had courage. They took responsibility… What was she doing? Nothing…

_'Nothing… I've done nothing…'_

Looking back down at her metallic case, the red headed girl finally understood. The moment she accepted the box, this whole business had become her responsibility. Whether or not she liked it, she had an obligation to help her friends. Slinging the loose strap that held the case around her should, Sarah put on a new face, one shining bright with determination.

_'I'm done running. Crying isn't getting me anywhere.' _Sarah told herself. Thirty minutes worth of crying had gained her nothing. All of her teammates were still lost in the swamp, and Sarah knew that without them, she was undoubtedly vulnerable due to her lack of survival skills and poor combat training at best. _'I have to find my friends.'_ She told herself, knowing without them she wouldn't survive more than a couple of days.

Hopping down from her branch, the red headed girl found herself up to her thighs in the warm and soupy muck. Sifting through the landscape, she began her search to find her teammates.

The girl continued on her trek long past the point of fatigue. Her legs had been turned purple with violent bruises as a result of the violent suction and constant tripping which had been brought on the violent suctioning force of the substances at her legs. Her body dripped with sweat and became sticky and stiff, yet still she continued on.

Looking around the boggy field of water and pollution, Sarah wondered how anything could life in this dirty basin. Suddenly, she was reminded of the existing life in the swamp as a forceful body sent her face first into the water. Pulling herself up, she saw several white fins protruding from the water, circling her at dizzying speeds.

Adrenaline kicking in; Sarah scurried away from the pursuing creatures, settling on top of a bush, out of reach of the water. To her surprise, one of the fat, aquatic creatures leaped out of the water. Its round eyes beamed and her and fat lips scowled at her. Its red body catapulted back into the water. They were the same fish that had fled from the tidal wave. They were probably just now returning to the shallower areas of the basin, and they looked rather agitated and dangerous.

Feeling cornered by the torso sized fish, the red headed girl began to panic, nearly tripping on the unstable plant matter. A clanging rang through her ears. Looking down, she saw her pyramid shaped container. She had nearly forgotten about her weapons in the midst of her fear.

Unhinging the lid of container, she squeezed her hand into the case, pulling out one of small sacks. The small packet was a brilliant red color and was no big than a gumball one might receive from a convenience store dispenser. Sarah pulled her arm back and readied herself to throw the weapon, but then her face went blank with shock and disbelief.

She couldn't remember what the note said that explained how to use the weapon. Sarah looked back into the water. The fish were circling her like sharks, reading themselves the leap and strike her. The red headed girl then looked down at the packet. No instructions were insight, nor an activation mechanism, just the color red and a mysterious kanji symbol. Surveying her situation and feeling more helpless by the minute, Sarah muttered the only words that came to mind.

"Oh shit."

…

The crane looked down at the pathetic children. He shook his head, wondering why their hirer Mimi would fawn for them to assassinate such pathetic creatures. Humans existed in this world, living so alongside the other dominate species of the land: the cranes, the lizards, and the otters. Humans had always been said to be the least intimidating of the four main entities. What made these humans so special?

"I suppose they're a bit taller than average." The bird surmised. "And their skin is lighter; not the common shade of orange I usually see on their bodies." The crane felt something odd about this whole thing, as if these humans they were after were part of something more dynamic then he or his team realized.

Nevertheless, a job was a job and his partners would soon be expecting him back. Raising his long, pointed beak, he positioned himself above the neck of the frail looking boy with the black hat. Not giving a second thought, he thrust his head down with full intentions to tear apart the child throat. As he mere inches from slicing through the skin, a silver blur flickered before his eyes and collided into the sensitive organs.

As he winced, closing his eyes in deep pain, he began to back off. Narrowly opening his eyes, he could see the boys had no doing this attack. They were still under the spell of his hypnosis. Blinking, he moved his head around; trying to root out the location of what had hit him. Tears began to roll down the bird's face as his eyes burned when he attempted to open them.

"Pixl dust," a feminine voice uttered. "Most unpleasant when it ends up in your eyes."

Whirling around, the assassin had come face to face with a small rainbow palette butterfly.

…

Shaking with fear as the gilled beasts encircled her; Sarah shook with fear, vibrating like a massage chair. Clasping her hands tightly and wiping the sweat off her brow, Sarah searched the water for a floating stick or anything jagged to defend herself with. The girl counted the number of red scaled fish around her and found there to be about four. Taking this into account, she began to strategize about which order she should attack the fish in and in what way to fight them.

Sarah clamped her hands tighter, trying to overcome the sensation of fear. Her body began to shine beat red and her skin heavily perspired. The girl noticed a lone tree branch floating within a mere foot distance of where she planted herself. Unclamping her left hand, she reached out for the stick, trying to grab a hold of what would become the red head's only weapon.

As she placed her arms in front of her, she noticed a bewildering sight. Sparks were flying from between the opening in her right fist. It took not a moment to register to Sarah exactly what she was holding. _'These things are bombs!'_ she mentally shouted.

Quick as a flash, Sarah threw the device into the air where it exploded in a swirling column of fire seconds later. Blinking, the red headed girl took another packet out of the jar. This one was yellow and showed a different kanji then the prior ball she'd grabbed.

Before she could analyze it, a splash echoed through her ears. She spun around like a merry-go-round. Firing itself from the water was another behemoth sized fish. Reflexively, she clamped her hands into tight fists. The second pellet began to spark. Reacting instinctively, Sarah tossed the colored bag at the incoming enemy. The packet collided head on with the fish.

The reaction of the collision resulted in the immediate detonation of the bomb. The fish was enveloped in a cloud of yellow sparks and electric pulses. Falling back into the water, the carcass of the fish began to smoke profusely. The once pink skin and yellow fins of the mighty creature became transformed into a color which resembled soot.

Gathering all the events which had just transpired, Sarah had figured out the mechanisms of the gadgets in the satchel, all on her own!

The weapons were pressure sensitive bombs which released energy through pressure and detonated within either: thirty seconds of being lit or upon forceful contact with another object. There were three types of bombs in her case. A red packet which released fire upon detonation; a yellow packet which released a burst of electricity when it exploded; as well as a third bomb type with a black skin that she'd had yet to identify.

Figuring she'd play it safe, Sarah decided only use the two types of bombs that had already broadcasted their effects to her. The girl grabbed several red and yellow packets from her tin case. She held most of her artillery in her left hand lightly and took one packet in her right hand for throwing.

Looking back at her opponents, she could see the fish had analyzed her attacks and were back away instinctively from her range. The enemies must've had a form of intelligence and logic. Sarah knew they would have to return to range of fire to attack. Bracing herself the girl waited cautiously for the attack of the next fish.

For several minutes, it was an all but mute stare down between the water lagged creatures and the small girl on top of her bush. The two sides were patiently testing each other's concentration, waiting carefully to break through each other's defenses.

When the first fish stuck, Sarah saw it coming. She squeezed her hand and triggered the detonation sequence of the mechanism. The fish made a beeline for her. Sarah considered throwing the bomb into the water, but was unsure if it would go off at all. She decided to wait for the fish come to her.

The torso size creature approached the amateur warrior; faster, faster, and faster! But the fish surprisingly dove straight down and twisted, swimming opposite from Sarah. The girl felt confused at first, only to realize that she had been duped. Spinning around, she saw another gargantuan fish leaping at her from, mouth agape and ready to chomp down violently on her body.

Sarah jerked her arm forward, chucking the weapon straight between the eyes of the fish. However, the creature spun slightly in midair, narrowly avoiding her counter. The enemy dove back into the water and retreated back to a safe distance.

Clearly these creatures were more cunning than they looked. Two of them alone had managed to form a diversion tactic with seemingly no visible communication. This meant Sarah would have to strategize much more than she anticipated. She would have to anticipate the battle tactics and plans that the fish came up and move accordingly so.

It was times like this Sarah wished someone brainy and strategic like Double D could be at her side to help her fight enemies like these.

Shaking that thought aside, she refocused herself on reading the movements of her enemies. The fish were still wadding in circles around her foothold. By focusing her vision in on one of the fist, she saw it make distinct gestures with its fin. Looking towards the other two enemies, Sarah saw pose similar signs with their fins. What they were planning was unknown, but Sarah was sure the next attack would encompass a direct or semi-direct assault from all three.

By shimmying in tiny circles, Sarah was able to maintain a lock on the visual location of all three animals. One had started to fall back and the other two were edging closer ever so slowly. The girl decided to keep a close eye on the fish that had edged backwards, sensing a trap. However, the fish only kept backing away from her at a constant pace. Sarah gasped as she realized this was the true diversion.

Diverting her attention back to the other two fish, the red head girl began to scream in terror. The other fish were honing in on her, and were readying themselves to throw their bodies into the air at the poor girl. Sarah crushed all of the many packets in her left hand and prepared to chuck them at the incoming enemies.

All of the sudden, a splashing sound resonated in the red head's ears. She jerked her head around like a steering wheel, finding herself nearly face to face with the third fish that she'd all but forgotten about. Two more splashes chimed in from behind her. Sarah then noticed the mechanisms in her hands had started to smoke, being only perhaps mere seconds from detonation.

Out of ideas and running out of time, Sarah callously tossed her sparking packets into the air and jumped into the water, pulling her entire body under the waist deep water. Sarah prayed a miracle would occur and closed her eyes, she heard but a small pop which she suspected were the bombs. The next thing she felt was a rush of bubble and the slapping of wave against her arch back.

…

"You damned insect." The crane spat as tear dripped down his face. "You were one of the targets in the profile we warned about," he told Tippi. "You were also the only one who we weren't required to kill on sight."

Tippi narrow her tiny, bug eyes. "Why are you after us?" Tippi snarled.

"We're assassins," the killer replied. "We've been paid to kill the one with the red cap, his four underage tagalongs, and anyone else who was traveling with him. We've noticed you've added a new member to your group too. I guess that blonde woman didn't pick her friends wisely. If you wanna count yourself then that brings us up to seven targets."

_'Seven?'_ Tippi thought. _'They haven't noticed Sarah yet. At least she should stay safe.'_

"You know, we don't have to kill you too," The assassin reminded her. "You're not a required target. If you leave now, I'll let you live."

Tippi shook her head valiantly. She wouldn't abandon these two boys; not just because Double D and Ed, along with Eddy and Mario, were required to reverse the prophecy that was started by the horrible man, Count Bleck, but… these people had become her friends. Looking up at the sky and trembling at the sight of the void, the very thing that would devour this all other worlds, she knew it was now in her hands to take down this malicious criminal for the sake of her friends and all dimensions.

Tippi shook her head once more. "No." she stated defiantly. She flew in front her friends and remained there firmly. "You won't hurt these children, or any of my friends!"

The crane shook his head. "You like many before, have chosen unwisely," he replied prophetically. The bird spread his wings and revealed to Tippi the inside of his wingspan. There upon his feathers were lines of tattooed curses and demonic summoning prayers written in several languages, including the language of the Tribe of Ancients. The tattoos began to glow a brilliant crimson red. Tippi red through the various prayer and saw it was a type of paralysis spell.

Breathing inward, she closed her eyes and whispered a prayer the fallen ancient ones, then called upon their magic to protect her. Tippi's own wings began to emanate a shining blue light which seemed cut through the hypnosis energy of bird.

The crane scowled, realizing he'd been outfoxed at his game of magic. He closed his wings, knowing that any use of his powers would be futile against her. The lights around Tippi's body vanished and the pixl opened her eyes, giving the bird a smug look. "Your powers have no effect on me, but your attempt was rather laughable," the pixl told the aviary creature.

"I don't usually bring myself to go so low as to fight in close combat." The bird muttered. "It's so degrading, but if it's what must be done…" The crane stretched out his talons and raised his long skewer like beak. "Then I will do so in order to destroy you." The crane lifted into the air sped up dizzying speeds in nearly an instant.

Tippi took off and began to try and lead the bird away from the kids. With no other option, she led the assassin away down the valley. Now was to begin her first fight.

…

The water around her settled and Sarah resurfaced. Wiping the water out of her eyes, she peered at the carnage left in the wake of her attack. Trees and bushes everywhere had been scorched and set ablaze by the fire and electric currents. Soot and bits of mud floated around the water, having been disturbed by the blasts. Two of the fish lay dead in the water, both being horribly burnt. One was so badly charred that barely any tissue remained on the creature, leaving only bones and ashy guts.

She looked around, trying to see if the third fish was still alive or not. A disturbance in the water caught her attention. Turning around, she reached for her weapons, but found the fish itself was no longer a threat. It was skewered on a protrude tree branch, flapping endlessly as its blood poured from the deep wound it received. The fish would likely die from either asphyxiation or blood loss.

Then, the fish made an action which shocked Sarah. "You… bitch…" it whispered softly. Sarah's jar dropped. The fish could speak. Surely then, it must've come from… Just to be sure, she checked the body of the animal, looking for the similar markings. Finally, she found the tattoo. It was on the left side of his tail fin. The caricatured face of king of the koopas was the same as the one on Todd's arm.

Breaking the branch off, she lowered the fish into the water, just enough for his gills to receive oxygen. He breathed heavily, taking in his first breaths since the explosion. Sarah walked in front of the fish, ready to receive answers. "I want some answers, you! Are you working for this Count or the king of the koopas?" she asked the aquatic creature.

"First it was Bowser, but then it was Count Bleck," the fish proclaimed. "I don't really know anymore."

"So at least some of the hypnosis has worn off," Sarah surmised. "Can you recall both your time under Bowser's army and as Count Bleck's minion?" The fish nodded. "So, I've managed to trigger your repressed memories. If you weren't dying, you'd maybe fully return to your original state."

"Perhaps," the fish replied. "Let's skip this formality." The creature smiled deviously. "I assume you want answers, as to what Count Bleck's plan is."

"That and a few other things," Sarah nodded.

"You're asking the wrong person. I was forced to join. I know probably less than you do, and you're fighting for the opposite side. Only the ones who physically swore their loyalty to him are allowed to know anything of his intentions."

"Have you been inside his castle at all?"

"Briefly… I was there during the initial search and conversion mission to take all of the stragglers who resisted Count Bleck's reign. Afterwards, me and the Thirty-first Cheep-Cheep Battalion were sent here."

"So you know nothing."

"I do know this. There are but three minions who're allowed to make direct contact to Count Bleck. They make up his elite. There is also a woman whom he considers his equal that goes about helping him control this operation. She is the direct line between the Count and his foot soldiers."

"Nastasia…"

"Yeah, her," the fish told Sarah. "She's his little secretary."

Sarah sighed. "You wouldn't know of Jimmy or Todd then, would you?"

"I know of no Jimmy, but I remember Todd." Sarah looked up, deeply interested in what the fish had to say. "He was a koopa if I recall correctly. He was an excellent squad leader. He's the koopa that rose through the ranks and became squad co-captain at the age of sixteen. He was dearly admired through the army. He was not found. I'm guessing he was captured recently and brainwashed as well."

"Days ago," Sarah replied sadly. "He saved my life, as well as Princess Peach's." Tears began to fall down her face.

"Heh, this is what opposed Count Bleck?" the cheep-cheep laughed. "His plans will succeed in the end if those who oppose him cannot hold in their emotions!" Sarah's face reddened. "Honestly, I always thought that Todd was weak; and I'll bet this Jimmy guy got taken easy. I bet all your worthless friends are dead already. No doubt that wave was somehow the doing of one of Count Bleck's agents. You're all going to die like-"

Sarah smacked the branch and the fish winced as his organs were hit violently against the wood. Sarah glared menacingly at the fish. The hatred in her eyes scared the fish. "I could kill you right now with a jolt of this branch! Tell me something useful or I leave you here to die!"

The animal smirked, obviously planning to go out in the most insulting way possible. "You're a little young to say this to and it will get me nothing, but I'm dead anyhow," the fish remarking, noting how blood had begun to drip from his mouth, as well as how his hole through his chest had opened up wider. "Suck my slimy, scale fish co-"

Sarah felt her rage hit a boil and swung her foot violently at the tree branch with full intent to destroy what was left of his organs. However, she did not finish her kick. To the fish's surprise, she lowered her foot. "You're not worth it." She told the fish. "Maybe you're still under that Bleck guy's magic, or maybe you're just plain cruel. Either way, I'm not going to kill you."

"After you killed the others… you refuse to kill me?" the cheep-cheep asked with confusion, coughing up more blood.

"I won't hurt anyone unless in self defense." Sarah promised the fish. She remembered Todd and the justness and humanity he'd offered her and Jimmy, even though he supposedly worked for someone who under normal circumstances would be an opposing force. "I don't think all of you are bad. If anything I want to make it my goal to save as many of the brainwashed as possible."

"So what; maybe we're not all evil and stuff. It's hopeless anyhow." The cheep-cheep commented. "You couldn't save my teammates. You couldn't save me…" He looked down at the stick which pierced his body. His hole had nearly stopped bleeding. He'd lost a great majority of the blood in his body. The fish began to cough, despite being partially underwater, he felt his airways seize. "Who will you save when we're all against you?" With a final cough, the fish fell silent and became still.

Sarah was quiet. She moved forward and closed the enemy's eyes. "I was never against any of you to begin with, and I will save you all." Sarah proclaimed, despite her reply being heard upon deaf ears. "I should thank you." She told the corpse as if it was alive. "You've helped me realize my purpose on this team." With a final act of humility, she pulled the fish from his skewered position and laid him on top of the bush where their battle had taken place. Several tears fell from her eyes. "What a way to go." She commented.

With nothing left to occupy her, she continued the search for her friends. Before she left the area however, something caught her attention. One of the trees that had been lit a fire was failing to burn near part of the trunk. No matter how much the flames licked that specific area of the tree, it just wouldn't burn. Taking a closer look, she saw that engraved in the trunk was a large symbol which looked incredibly similar to the ones on her packet.

…

The otter had been eyeing her surroundings for a couple of hours, looking for faint traces of the human beings. She examined the trees, but found no scuff marks or torn bark which would indicate nearby life. She inspected the water for litter or pollutants, but was without luck.

The assassin came upon her first clue with a mere stroke of luck. She happened to notice a grayish, brown box floating aimlessly by a pile of debris left over from the tidal wave. That seemed quite suspicious. Upon further inspection, the mammal found that it was definitely a used item box. It appeared to have been used recently too. How strange… item boxes were extremely sparse in this world, especially in this constantly flooded and unstable part of the planet.

Reaching into her robe, she pulled out a pair of standard electronic binoculars. Peering through them, she saw about a mile away, there was another used item block. Another three or so miles away, another brown box sat alone in the air. The boxes pointed in the general direction of the mansion where their boss Mimi lurked.

Putting her binoculars away, the killer smiled. She'd found her prey.

…

Pulling the bark away, Sarah discovered an empty air pocket within the tree. On the inside sat a large chest, decorated in strange symbols and colorful depictions of weapons and such. They inscriptions reminded her of the letters on her bomb packets. Curious, the girl inspected the box, trying to get a grasp as to why such a chest would be hidden away deep within the swamp. All of the sudden, the box began to jiggle and shake! Sarah lurched back in surprise.

Sarah then heard a noise. It sounded as if a soft whisper had escaped from the crate. The red headed girl considered ignoring the box altogether and just walking away, but the familiar symbols on the box just seemed too coincidental to ignore. Placing one hand in her tin full of weapons and the other on the latch of the box, she took a deep breath and tested the lid. The chest seemed to allow access from the outside. With one last breath, she swung the top of the box open and grabbed a handful of bombs in self defense.

From the crate, slowly arose a shimmering blue creature which fairy wings and a spherical body. It had two eyes and a little fuse atop its head. Without a doubt, it was an anthropomorphic explosive. "Sss… BOOM!" the fairy exclaimed, much to Sarah surprise. "Sss… BOW! What a fine, fine day it is to be free. I haven't seen such a beautiful sun in one thousand years!" The bomb like creature looked down at Sarah. "And might you be the one who set this old pixl free?"

Sarah blinked. "I- I… opened the crate-"

"Sss… THAT'S RIGHT YAH DID!" the bomb shaped pixl cried, interrupting Sarah. "The name's Boomer. I was one of the vast numbers of pixls imprisoned by the ancient ones, destined to wait for return of the heroes to stop the prophesized demise of the world. Sss… SHABOOM!"

The mental wheels began to turn in Sarah's head. She slowly put one and one together. "The heroes… You mean my idiot brother and his friends! I think they're the ones you're talking about," she realized. "They're part of this fortune thing about saving a bunch of worlds."

"Bingo sister. Sss… KAPOW!" Boomer replied. "I'm to bestow upon one of them an ancient power which will aid them on their quest."

Sarah jumped with glee. "I knew I could be useful. Come on! You can help me find them." The girl began to slosh through the swamp to continue the search for her friends with her newfound companion, before the fairy flew in front of her and stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Whoa! Sss… KERBAM!" Boomer cried. "I don't have much power out here, and my physical form will dissipate without a near immediate medium. Sss… PAPOW!"

"A medium?" Sarah asked in confusion.

"I need someone to accept me to become part of their soul as my catalyst or host so to speak. That chest I was closed in was encrypted with a spell that protected my aura from the rapid degeneration I would be inevitably exposed to in the open. Without a soul for my form to occupy, I'll fade away and any power I have will be useless." Boomer explained. Sarah noticed this, as she found Boomer's shimmering blue body to slowly becoming transparent and gaseous. Who knows how much longer the pixl had 'till it became nonexistent.

"But, we don't have time for-"

"Then it must be you!" Boomer exclaimed.

Sarah flinched. Her? No, she wasn't capable, nor worthy of the power of a pixl. Sarah wasn't a hero that had been inscribed in the prophecy, so she didn't truly deserve a pixl. Maybe Nazz wasn't one of the four mentioned in that book of prophecy, but she was older and far more mature and calm than Sarah was. Did the young, tiny, scared red headed girl really have it in her to control such strength?

"I can't-"

"The magic I'm going to share really an offensive type of power, so it doesn't necessarily need to go to the heroes," Boomer reassured her.

The red headed girl lowered her head. She was so weighed down from the endless responsibilities that'd been flung at her in the past few days. If it was what the heroes needed, then Sarah had little say in the matter. "I suppose if I have to…" Sarah replied.

Without waiting another second, Boomer charged at the small child. The pixl smashed into her chest and was absorbed into her body like water is absorbed into a sponge. She felt a cold, shocking sort of feeling run through her body. Sarah wondered if she'd pass out from shock. Within a few seconds, the numbness that had struck her began to seize and she regained control of her body. She reached for her chest and felt no wound or opening.

_"My power is yours, Sss… Ker-BLAM!" _Boomers voice echoed. Sarah's eyes shot open wide fear. Where had Boomer disappeared to? _"I am now one with your soul." _The girl shook with terror at his statement. Inside… her soul; was he serious? _"Take my power as yours. Sss… BOOM! You now can supply yourself with unlimited weaponry and ammo. Simply imagine a weapon and you can create it with ease. Sss… BAM! But be careful, if you use this power often, you'll wear yourself down."_

Sarah did well to remember the information that was being presented to her. Certainly this magic would be an asset to her friend later. _"Now, I willing dissipate into your body. I will adjoin with your soul entirely, and my sentient conscience will seize to exist."_

Sarah gasped. "No!" She yelled into the air. "You can't! That's not fair. Nazz's pixl didn't vanish. She speaks to it all the time."

_"A soul fusion is the only way for you to obtain your fullest potential with your new powers. A suicidal merge on my end was is inevitable. This is the fate of the common pixl, Sss… BLAM!" _Boomer explained. _"As for your friend, she will never achieve her full power if her pixl continues to refuse the merge. Sss… POW!" _Sarah felt tears well up and somber feelings clouded her heart.

"True strength shouldn't be earned like this." Sarah wept.

_"It was my destiny to fade away, as was foretold in the ancients' plan. I must become one with you." _The fairy spoke. _"My mark on you shall not fade, however. I will end my existence with a true bang! Sss… KER-POW-A-BLAMMO!"_ And with that, the fairy's voice dimmed and vanished. The pixl had combined its soul with hers, allowing her body to dissolve it like simple salt in water.

Sniffling, Sarah wiped away her tears and made yet another vow: to put Boomer's gift to use. Closing her eyes, she pictured the packets she'd created earlier; the red and yellow ones that she'd used up against the cheep-cheeps. As she felt a strange tingling sensation overwhelm her, she flipped her eyes back open. In her hand rested several bombs of the fire and lightning variety.

The young girl stocked up on weapons and grew a serious face. It was time to be bold for her friends.

* * *

><p><em>Did what I make the fish say to Sarah go too far? I know it's a T story but... I could change it at a whim if it's not fitting for the rating I've assigned the story.<em>


	21. Kyusu of Sea, Hebei of Sky, Rin of Land

_I've really expanded on these chapters in the swamp. World two is definitely going to be a long one, but don't worry! The mansion part definitely won't be brushed over. I plan to go into great depth with it. One thing I'll be happy about when these chapters in the marsh end is that I'll be able to stop trying to find synonyms for water._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Twenty-One: Kyusu of the Sea, Hebei of the Sky, and Rin of the Land

**"That was her only warning."**

**"Sir, will she listen to your threats."**

**"A stupid human like her, of course."**

**"Yes sir."**

**"Now of Blumeire…"**

**"Your son has snuck out again. Should I fetch him?"**

**"No. He needs reinforcement."**

**"Excuse me?"**

**"What he shall find will set him straight."**

* * *

><p>Merlon flipped through the pages of the Light Prognosticus, hoping to decipher more of the ancient text. It had been the first time in a long time he'd flipped through the older passages, but he felt the need to search for more clues as to where some of the future Pure Hearts may be, as a way of preparing the four chosen ones and their friends for their next journey.<p>

So far, it was looking normal as ever. The same old texts which inscribed the names of Mario, Eddy, Eddward, and Ed held no formidable clues within them. However, later within the first tome of the scripture, he ran into something out of the ordinary. It was a short passage describing others. Normally, it wouldn't have bothered him at all, but a single verse made him flinch and do a double take.

**_'With their path unclouded, on marches the heroes. Behind in their footsteps, several will tred. A golden goddess of noble blood, and two girls of ruby and gold...'_**

…

The otter walked smugly across the swamp, quietly scouting her target. The foolish child shouldn't be too far away. She smiled with satisfaction, grinning ear to ear. _'I'm going to gut this one.'_ The assassin told herself sadistically. _'Then I'll mount its head on a stick. If it's one of the females, then maybe I'll coat its face with makeup. That would be delightful.'_ The mammal let out a small yelp in anticipation. Her adrenaline was overcoming her.

Hardly able to contain herself, she reached for her favorite knife, which was tied tightly to a saddle like holster on her left leg. The blade was made of a slick diamond with razor points lining the sides of the blade. The handle was forged from two gemstones, a rare form of sapphire and what was either ruby, garnet, or something else that was red. This was the one knife that the assassin had made sure never missed its target.

Staring at her knife with a proud and narcissistic gaze, the otter gasped. Her paw was stained red and what should've been water dripping for her knife was a sticky, diluted red fluid. The water all around her had been transformed into this reddish color. The assassin smirked. One of her cohorts must've finished the job. The otter chuckled. It was humorous to her that one of her teammates had left such a mess. "I'll have to scold one of them later for having to fight back so vehemently." She reminded herself.

Shaking her head, she continued on forward only to trip and fall straight into the pool of thinned water. The assassin emerged from the water with an angry malicious look upon her face. Enraged by her misstep, she kicked the object which had caused her trip. To her surprise, it was rather fleshy and gave easily to her kick. This only pissed her off even more. "Did one of those two dumbasses forget to take the body? UGH!"

Grabbing the carcass by its clothes, the killer hoisted the body out of the water, preparing to take it with her as she continued her hunt. The figure that she had grabbed from the water, however, was not who she was expecting.

The lizard's skin was no longer the deep blue color she remembered it had been a couple of hours ago. His body had almost no blood left in it, and as such, his skin was sickly grey. His neck had been slit and his face mask had been knocked off. Even though no visible signs were present, she could tell by smell alone that the corpse had begun to enter the early stages of decomposition.

The otter felt a mixture of emotions run through her. There was a bit of surprise that pitiful humans had defeated her subordinate, anger towards her subordinate who had somehow managed to get himself killed by a weakling, and a feeling irritation that now she'd have to find a replace to fill her three person unit. All of these feelings boiled up until they were let out in a furious yell. "KYUSU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" she cried to the sky, throwing the deceased body of her former teammate into the water.

…

"KYUSU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

The crane stopped his pursuit of the pixl turned his head in the direction of the sound. "No mistaking it," the bird said to himself. "Rin's pissed." He tried to come with several reasons as to why his squad leader would be so angry at their water bending companion. He shook his head, wondering why he'd ask himself such a ridiculous thing. "Kyusu's dead." He muttered to himself bluntly. It was no doubt the work of one of their targets.

The crane honestly could care less about the lizard. The damned creature never bothered to learn common speech (the general equivalent of English with some minor discrepancies) and was a hotheaded pain in the neck. The bird remembered when their team first formed; how he begged the otter to reconsider and choose another member. There were plenty of other lizards who could water bend, as well as be willing to speak to them without the need to translate his speech, and think before they did something stupid.

Indeed, there should've been a number of reasons to be happy for the reptile's death, but he knew better. The leader would come looking for the bird next. Perhaps she'd find and kill one of the humans first, but she'd come for him all the same. The crane knew if he did not present Rin with corpses when she found him, there would be no second chances. She would kill him.

The bird knew he had to work fast. He turned around and flew back to where he assumed the children were. He no longer had time to deal with the fairy.

Tippi soon realized there was no one following her any longer. The bird had abandoned her and was flying in the opposite direction in the distance. "Ed, Double D; no!" she screamed, flapping as fast as her fragile butterfly wings could go. "Please make it in time." Tippi chanted to herself. "Please make it in time!"

The assassin flew downwards, circling towards the children who slept quietly in the water. Somehow, they were still floating face up in the water and had not drowned. _'These children have the luck of the devil with them.'_ He knew the spell would only keep them unconscious for a few minutes more, and the odds of them, or at least the smart one with the sock hat, would surely not fall for his trick twice. Raising his beak, he readied his final blow over the weak looking one with the stupid hat.

"No!" the butterfly yelled. She broke into a mad dash towards her friends.

The crane rolled his eyes and merely swatted the insect out of the way with his wing as she charged at him. She twirled through the air, falling like a piece of crumpled up paper and landing atop of a floating log. Tippi began to twitch slightly as she tried to move her mangled body.

"Even with you magic, your fragile body is useless to you in combat," the assassin told her. "I have no time to play game with you like I might usually do. If I don't end these two soon," he pointed his wing down towards the kids, "…**_she'll_**… kill me." He shuddered as he spoke the pronoun referring to his leader. "Don't worry; you'll join them soon you stubborn bug." He told the pixl.

Raising his head once more, he prepared to send his beak through the neck of the wimpier of the two children. Nothing would stand in his way now. Forcing his head down, he calmly prepared for the moment where his beak would piece the skin. Blood spattered everywhere. The bird rejoiced, but realized his sharp bill had not gone through the neck of the child. What was this blood?

The bird's vision went black and his body fell into an abyss of emptiness. His last thought echoed through his brain like a lost voice in the mountains. _'Whoever did this, has given me a merciful death. This was not the work of Rin.'_

The crane collapsed beside the two Ed boys. The wound had been so precise, almost no blood leaked from his temple. "Called it," murmured a confident, short statured thirteen year old boy. He began to slowly move towards his friends, dragging his injured leg behind him like a sack of bricks.

When he reached his companions, he hoisted them one at a time on top of a small boulder which reached about a foot or so above the water. Once he'd removed his friends from the water, he began to pull himself up to the top of the rock, before he heard a slight rustle and a high pitched moan. Turning his head, he saw a familiar looking insect stuck in a crushed looking position on top of a nearby log.

The child smiled devilishly, and went to retrieve the creature. Pulling the pixl from the water, he brought the winged one to the rock as well, before finally hoisting himself up to join the butterfly. "Miss me Tinkerbell?" Eddy asked smugly.

"Shut up Eddy," Tippi groaned.

"Not too generous coming from the guy who probably just saved your life," Eddy reminded her.

"The bird wasn't after me," Tippi explained as she began to slowly straighten out her mangled body. "What the heck were you doing? You were nowhere to be found."

"I was just trying to make my way to the mansion, just like you asked," Eddy explained. "I managed to make nearly all the way there, but then I found Ed, sockhead, and you couldn't handle yourselves against that teeny enemy." Eddy laid back and pointed confidently at himself. "So I took it into my hands to save your lives," Eddy frowned and his gaze shifted toward the unconscious Double D. "Despite the fact some were a bit undeserving of it."

Tippi shook her head. "You need to let that one slip of the tongue go," she advised. "Ill will shall only lead to bad blood and that's trouble for a squad's mission."

"Says you," the short boy snorted. "Besides, I do care about my folks."

"He apologized-"

"No, there's more to it…" Eddy silenced her, trying to depart from the conversation. Tippi frowned and then tried to unbind her body, which was still bent and crooked from the swat that the bird had given her.

Eddy rolled his eyes, but felt a jerk of sympathy for the butterfly. Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed a red mushroom and dropped it in front of the pixl. "Eat it." Eddy instructed her. "I saw Red Cap eat one of them. I think they heal you, or something."

Tippi began to nibble on the food placed before her gratefully. Gradually, she felt strength return to her wings and her body return to its natural shape. "Thank you, Eddy."

"Don't thank me," Eddy smirked. "I've got plenty. The yellow boxes here give me ten items a piece. I'm making a killing here."

The pixl became confused. "Item boxes? I haven't seen any."

"They're rarer here," Eddy replied. "You can find them behind all the trees and junk. A whole trail of them actually led me to you guys." Eddy pointed southward from the direction he had come from.

Tippi looked where the Ed had pointed. She could vague make out three or so item boxes in the distance. They had been used as the floating containers and were now a dull shade of brown. They stretched about a couple miles back before the horizon cut off their range of vision.

…

Double D was the first to awaken. The first thing he noticed was that his skin was cold and damp, and his fingers had pruned up, looking like pink raisins. Instinctually, he began to try and find Ed, who thankfully was laying beside him on the rock, beginning to stir. Wait- a rock?

_'Just when did we get on a rock?' _Double D thought to himself. _'Where is that bird? Just what in the Sam hill is going on here?'_

"Item boxes? I haven't seen any."

The familiar voice startled Double D, and made him turn around with a jolt. A familiar pixl was engaged in a conversation with a certain pint sized human being.

"They're rarer here," The boy told the pixl. "They're typically hidden behind trees and junk. A whole trail of them actually led me to you guys." Eddy then raised his hand and pointed off into the distant. Vaguely looking in that direction, Double D saw a dark figure lying in the water which was tinted red like tomato juice. Several white feathers floated grimly above the still figure.

Tippi sensed motion behind her and rotated her tiny. "Hey, they're awake." Tippi chimed, elated that her comrades had woken up.

Ed rose up and rubbed his eyes. Firstly, Ed noticed his short statured friend, sitting there with the usual angry look on his face. "Eddy!" Ed exclaimed, jumping from his spot on the boulder and onto his friend's lap. "I just had the weirdest dream where you bought candy and jawbreakers for the orphans in Bulgaria."

Eddy knocked Ed off with a forceful shove. "In your dreams, lumpy."

"Ah… the good ole days…" Ed commented with an odd sense of nostalgia.

Double D looked at Eddy, offering him a thankful stare. Eddy averted his gaze. Double D sighed, looking remorsefully at the ground.

"I didn't deserve your help, Eddy," Double D started. "I can't thank you enough, for having the humility to do what you did. You certainly are more humble than I give you credit for…" Eddy didn't respond.

"It's okay Eddy; Double D apologized," Ed promised. Eddy still did not reply.

"I don't expect you to forgive me off the bat if at all, but can we at least talk a little?" asked Double D.

"I'm not mad about what you said anymore," Eddy replied mechanically.

Double D's eyes widened. "What?" he asked. "But then what…"

"We can talk, okay. Please just drop it," Eddy insisted. Double D said nothing more.

Eddy began to think to himself, dolling over his feelings. Yah, he missed his parents, but he wasn't mad about that. Heck! What Double D said could've just as easily come out of Eddy's mouth.

_'Double D was right. I am a heartless bastard.' _Eddy thought to himself. _'Can't believe I'm saying this, but… The more I think about it, the more I realize I don't miss you. I can use that one memory as an excuse all I want, but it's not sobering me at all… Anthony…'_

A whizzing sound perforated Eddy's ears. It was a sound he knew all too well. "Get down!" Eddy screamed, instinctually grabbing his friends and pulling them off the rock for cover. Several kunai knives flew by overhead and many loud clangs of blade smashing against the boulder face reverberated through the air.

"What was that?" Double D stammered, his mind flying into a panic.

"Real original," Eddy yelled from behind their defensive wall. "The knife thrower thing is mine," Eddy boasted. "Get your own trademark!"

The opponent's response came in the form of a sinister laugh. "The neck," spoke the voice, "the head, the pulmonary artery, the pulmonary vein, the heart, the liver, and the lung. So many vital spots, how could I pick just one?" the voice declared, followed by another round of laughter. The group shivered at how much delight this enemy was taking from the thought of death.

Peeking from behind the boulder, Eddy saw a large furry creature which wore an outfit similar to that of a kimono, approaching their location. From a distance he saw the animal flick its arm. Eddy felt a sharp pain erupt from his nose and he leapt back behind the rock. His nose had been sliced near the tip and was erupting into a river of blood. Double D, Ed, and Tippi were aghast by the anthropomorphic animal's aim.

"That was a warning shot, from three hundred tails paces away!" boasted the mammal. "Now imagine a shot from a mere five tails paces away! You're all history!" The creature broke off into more laughter.

"She's an absolute monster," stated Double D. "A complete sadistic barbarian!"

"My cousin was sadistic," Ed said. "He liked to draw stars and circles and chant funny phrases in Latin."

"Let's not even go there Ed," Double D replied.

The mammal's voice roared once again from afar, with a slightly more forgiving tone. "I see you finished off Hebei." She told them. "I should thank you; he and Kyusu couldn't finish anything they started. But don't worry, I'm not like them!"

"What's a 'Hebei'?" Eddy muttered.

"I think he's referring to that bird you killed," Tippi stated.

"That- that's just vile!" Double D shouted. He raised his voice loud enough for the enemy to hear. "How could you feel nothing for your fallen comrades?"

"Simple," called the mammal from afar. "They were weaker than me!"

"I could never had expected such callousness. Even from my enemy," Double D ground his teeth in anger and balled up his fists. "We have to stop this brute."

"I could probably nail her if I had a closer shot," Eddy remarked. "But I'd need a distraction in order to draw her knives away from me."

"But I lost my axe when the wave gave me a hug, Eddy," Ed replied.

"And I no longer have my arrows," Double D stated. "I'm afraid you're the only one with any form of weaponry."

"Great," Eddy groaned. "How am I supposed to hit her? I've only got two knives left on me; I lost the rest in that freak wave."

"I could draw her fire." Tippi volunteered. "I should be able to deflect her attacks with my energy, at least for a short time." Tippi tried to fly off of Double D's shoulder, but shuddered as she gained height, then fell from the air. Double D caught her as she fell.

"You can't do this," the beanie wearing child told her. "Your injuries far surpass the activities you wish to perform. That anthropomorphic mammal will murder you."

"I am disposable," Tippi responded. "None of you three can be permitted to die. If that means I'm to meet my demise here, then so be it." Ignoring the pleas of Double D, Tippi took off and began to flutter off. She shielded herself in a cloak of blue energy, meant to shield her from attacks. In her current state, it wasn't very strong, but hopefully it would hold through a couple of attacks.

Rin no longer cared about who her targets were. Her bloodlust had consumed her twisted personality and was drawing her to kill. Every second her prey hid behind the quarry stone, Rin's anxiety grew. When the first living thing appeared from behind the rock, the otter already had a dagger at the ready and was prepared to strike.

The assassin threw the knife, aiming directly for the insect's thorax. Upon contact, Rin was surprised to find the weapon ricocheted off the bug's body. The pixl shook and appeared to lose control and fall to the flooded ground, but was able to regain its balance then continued to flap away.

The otter growled in annoyance. "You stupid insect; I'll rip your damn wings off!" she screamed before throwing another blade at the insect. The knife collided with the bug, shattering the blue glow which surrounded her. Tippi began to spiral back down to the ground and landed in the water that covered the floodplain, unconscious and defeated.

Rin smiled wickedly, ready for the warm feeling she would receive when finished off another living creature. Rin flinched, feeling the air around her compress and swerve. She felt her face. Her cheek was painted with fresh blood, dripping from an open wound across her cheek.

She spun around, angrily growling at the boy who'd just thrown the knife at her.

Eddy winced in fear. "Crap!" Eddy yelled as he fumbled through his bag for a second knife. The otter on the other hand retrieved one of her blades within a mere second. She threw the blade straight at the face of tiny child.

Eddy reflexively brought his arms to his face. The knife made contact with his left shoulder and sent him flying back a few feet. Sitting up, he began to withdraw the blade from his body. Eddy cry out in agony as skin in his arm tore apart. He jerked the knife from his limb and scowled at the beast. Venting his anger, he sent the dagger flying back at the mammal in retaliation.

Rin effortlessly caught the knife using only two fingers as it came within inches of her face. Eddy gasped, unable to explain how the assassin had caught his projectile.

"Let me guess, you're a child prodigy." Rin guessed. "Just picked up your first weapon a week or two ago. I see it in you. It's the sort of false confidence that takes a lifetime to grow." Eddy's eyes widened with shock. She was picking him apart like a piece of pulled pork. "Let me explain something to you. You're not all that special. I'm going to kill you and all your little friends, and do you know why?" she asked the boy rhetorically. "Because… I enjoy seeing the pain of others. The last few seconds of one's life before the blade hits are usually filled with terror, but your last few moments will be special." She paused and then whispered with a devilish smile, "Yours will be filled with a special kind of pain. Regret…"

Eddy had begun to tear up. What upset him most was that she was right. To die now would be to go down with regret and remorse. _'If I die now, I'll never understand why… I feel this emptiness this emptiness for him.'_ Eddy thought, no longer holding back his tears.

"I thought so," Rin smiled. "I love pigs like you; they always go out squealing." She reached into her robe for another weapon. From her pockets, she retrieved a diamond blade with a gleaming holster made of sapphire and ruby. "I save my favorite blade for cases like you. So then, I suppose I'll take my time with your death." She took aim at the boy, taking her time to savor the moment.

Eddy was so emotionally wracked that moving at all in the knee deep water would've been impossible for him. Ed and Double D stared in horror from their position. They were unarmed and stuck in a similar state of terror.

_'No. It can't end like this.' _Double D thought to himself, feeling helpless as ever in this situation. _'I have to help. What do I do?' _The assassin drew her arm back. _'I have to help. I have to move.' _The otter's arm flew forward. _'I must move.' _The knife flew into the air. _'I WILL MOVE!'_

…

Had it been an eternity, or a second? Eddy couldn't tell. Where was he? The swamp, of course… the assassin was just over there. Had she thrown the knife, or had he? The otter looked surprised, but why? Ed was over there, looking more confused than usual. So then where was Double D? Oh, there he was. How did he not notice sockhead right in front of him? Why was he there? Why was bleeding? "OH GOD!" Eddy shouted at the realization.

Double D fell backwards, collapsing into Eddy's arms. The dagger had implanted itself firmly in sockhead's breast. His new shirt was now a brilliant shade of red. The poor kid could barely speak or move as a sense of tiredness overcame him as he began to lose his blood.

"Double D!" Ed shrieked in horror as he ran into the battleground to help his friend, ignoring the enemy lurking only several yards away.

Eddy was now sobbing, an odd characteristic for the usually stuck up and overconfident brat. "Why sockhead?" Eddy demanded to know. "What the heck were you thinking?"

"Eddy… the otter…" Double D gasped.

"This is just peachy," Rin remarked. "I'll be able to take out three targets at once." Three knives descended from the otter's sleeves and lined her hand uniformly. "What were your names again; Eddy, Ed, and Eddward? I'll be sure to remember them." She raised her arm. Her knives shined with a brilliant luster. "You were quite the interesting bunch."

Then, almost comically, the sleeve of the assassin's robe began to burst into flames. "What the!" she yelled in surprise, dropping her knives and shaking her arm in an exaggerated manor like a cartoon character.

"Is she a witchcrafter?" Ed asked suspiciously.

"Hardly… Ed…" Double D moaned.

Furiously, she ripped off her robe and threw into the water. Beneath her single layer of clothing, the otter was covered in layer of belts and sashes which lined her arms, legs, and torso. The extra covering each housed many different kinds of daggers; some for throwing and some for close combat.

"Which one of you little demons ruined my kimono?" yelled the assassin, pointing a dagger at the frightened children. With no response, the mammal's fur began to stick up on end and her scowl grew larger. "So help me I'll-"

"Looking for someone?" Rin spun around, following the voice of the newcomer. It sounded all too familiar to her. "Don't hurt my friends or there'll be heck to pay!" Sarah shouted confidently.

"YOU!" Rin shouted in surprise. "I should've killed you when I had the chance. I took pity on you because you weren't on my hit list, but now I see that my philosophies were wrong. I'll remember that on my next assignment."

"Sarah, no!" Ed cried. "Big brother is coming to save you."

Sarah held up her arm, silencing her brother. "Ed, it's okay." Ed's sister gave the three boys a noble look. "You don't have to suffer anymore. I can do this."

"Ha!" Rin laughed maniacally. "You? An hour ago, you were crying over a stump. Nothing's changed in an hour, and I'm not scared of you," she told the little red head.

"Ditto for me, sister," Sarah replied coolly.

The otter frowned, and reached for several kunai which were strapped to a band around her thigh. Extending her arm back, she gave the little girl one more cold gaze. Sarah returned her stare, putting just as little emotion into hers. "Hmph…" the assassin grunted, thrusting her arm forward and rocket the daggers towards Sarah.

Sarah smiled. "Here I go." Sarah snagged several fire bombs from her pocket. She crushed them in her hand and let them fall from her palms, preparing to move into action.

The packets went off, releasing a barrage of fire and smoke. The knives disappeared into the haze. Suddenly, Sarah leaped from the smog like a superhero and flung several yellow packets at her assailant. They collided with the killer, creating a luminous spark of electricity which stunned the assassin and caused her to collapse.

Rin knelt down in the water, vomiting as she tried to overcome her sudden nausea and paralysis. Sarah ran up to the otter and tackled her before she could recover. Holding the mammals head just above water level, the girl assaulted the murderer with a barrage of punches and jabs at the face. Soon Rin's face was painted with blood and swollen like a balloon.

Sensing the next impending blow, Rin opened her mouth and bit down on the fist and it fell near her face. Sarah shrieked and drew back her mangled hand. It was covered with multiple puncture wounds from the assassin razor sharp teeth. With this reaction, Sarah had lost the temporary control she possessed over her opponent. The otter shoved her off and callously withdrew a knife from an arm holster. Sarah scurried to her feet and began to back away.

Throwing her dagger, the assassin realized it feel several foot to the right, far off course of her intended target. Rin cursed, bringing her hand up to her left eye which had been swollen shut from the blows she'd received from Sarah's fish fight. The short-term loss of her left eye meant that now her depth perception and sense of coordination had been lost until her face healed up. "You bitch!" Rin screamed.

The otter improvised, grabbed a long winding blade that had been strung to her right leg. She smiled wickedly. "It doesn't matter," Rin laughed. "I'll skin you then! I'll string you up and skin you if I can't hit you!"

Sarah grabbed several flame bombs and lit them, throwing them in the otter's direction. The murderous mammal merely dived beneath the surface of the water to avoid the explosions, and began to swim through the foot high water towards the child, baring her teeth and flaunting her extensive cutlery.

The young girl knew it was pointless to flee. She could waddle at best in the mud pit and the mammal was a natural at maneuvering in condition. Fearing the worst, she readied herself for close combat before noticing a large green imbecile charging through the slosh.

"Don't worry baby sister!" Ed cried. "Lothar will bring first aid you and a can of karate kid to this she woman beast of terror." Amazingly, Ed's unique strength somehow helped him fight the water's tendency to pull the body. He was running as if he was on dry land. He reached the trail of the creature in no time and pulled her out of the water by her neck.

The large Ed slammed the anthropomorphic animal against a large tree, using one hand to hold her body to the tree and the other hand to hold her hands and disarm her of the knife. "Stay still and you will be spared, vixen of the mermaid kingdom of kitty cats!" Ed ordered threateningly, but Rin was well on her way to squirming free of Ed's imprisonment. The hired assassin had some vigor of her own.

Meanwhile, Eddy had begun to stand up Double D, who was still weak from the dagger that had pierced his torso. Sarah had rushed over to the two boys' side and began to assist Eddy in supporting Double D.

"Eddy, Sarah," the taller of the Eds began weakly. "We have- to help Ed…"

"What can we do?" Eddy said as he supported his friend's weight. "I only have two knives left. If I miss there's a pretty big chance I'll hurt our wall of fat and fleas over there."

"I've got a… a different idea," Double D responded, "but we… need Sarah- to do it."

"I can do whatever you need me to." Sarah complied. "Let's kick that bad guy's tail."

Double D nodded and began to recite his plan.

Meanwhile, Ed was losing his grip as the animal began slowly break through the meaty boy's grip. What seemed to begin as an evenly matched Texas showdown was whittling away into a fixed Mixed Martial Arts fight.

"Trouble… Bad… Big!" Ed exclaimed in confusion. The boy had never once met a child his size, or an adult double his size for that matter, whom had been able to match up to his brutish power. The only person whom Ed had met which had been stronger than him was the Count's minion O'Chunks, but that man was at least double his height and had muscles layered throughout his entire body which just didn't seem natural in the slightest.

But the otter, she was nowhere near as bulky as the dirty Ed boy and was slowly pushing him back as the seconds ticked by in slow motion. He couldn't move quick enough to reposition himself in a way which would totally restrain her and was not clever enough to find away to retreat from her striking distance before she could attack with her knife.

The one assassin's hands began to snake its way to the side of her hip, just a paper's width away from the cavalry of weapons hoisted on her body. "You're quite the wall boy," Rin told Ed. "I'm impressed you've even been able to hold be back this long."

"Really," Ed smiled with interest. "No one's ever told me that before." Ed confided in the animal.

"Don't you mistake my taunts for a sick infatuation with a meddling human like you," the assassin warned the boy.

"Oh I won't," Ed replied. "Cause you and me are like a mayonnaise and jellyroll sandwich. When one half goes missing, the other half tastes just as sweet, but one third less like rotten buttered toast."

Grimacing at the putrid smelling boy, Rin spoke. "I'm going to enjoy this." Using a burst of energy fueled from her rage, she broke free of Ed's grip and forcefully shoved him onto his butt. She snatched two knives from her belt and pounced forward, holding her knives like an executioner, ready to finish off her prey.

That's when the world around the otter began to cloud away, fading to a sooty sort of black dusk which cloaked Rin's vision. The gaseous mist irritated her eyes, and she began to tear up. The killer dropped her weapons and reflexive brought her hands to her eyes, rubbing them to soothe, or at the very least, null the pain.

During the commotion, Rin failed to notice the two figures sloshing through the murk, slipping beneath her lowered guard. The sudden blinding and shock of the attack had left her completely open and the predator was left poorly equipped to handle the assault. The two newcomers pushed her forward to the ground, bending her down onto her knees and crossing her hands behind her back.

The otter could only see one ending for herself; an execution.

"Do it then!" Rin shouted aimlessly. "Kill me!"

What followed was not death, but agony. A sound which consisted of scrapping, tearing, and crunching reverberated through the killer's ears, making her sick her stomach. Her arms whined and began to pulse uncontrollably. She felt the nerves in her skin tear and die, sending signals of unimaginable misery all across her body. Suddenly, pain began to erupt in her chest, in her back, in her temples, and in her forehead; and yet the otter couldn't begin to discern why.

"No!" Rin howled. "I want death! I don't want mercy! I don't want this pain!"

Though the pain was not one bit pleasant in itself, the real agony for Rin was the noise; the sound of which she could not interpret. The creature had no clue as to what these foes were doing to her. The unknown burdened her worse than any mere injury. Trying to imagine what was being done to her body only escalated her suffering. Rin couldn't take it. Death would be far more pleasurable.

Then, a crashing force shattered her head and brought her relief in the form of an unfamiliar pain. The sudden ache brought a chilling numb which overtook her in a storm of confusing thoughts and blurred vision. And then… she was gone.

…

The soreness was what came first. The sapient mammal felt it; the burns. It was those terrible burns which ran like a stampede down her forearms. All the assassin could focus on was feeling of scorched skin. _'They've burned my arms.' _Rin surmised. It was clear in her mind that they'd just tortured her and left her floating on a log to suffer. Nothing else made sense to her. _'They will regret not finishing what they started.'_

The otter began to calculate her next move. Of course, she would need to heal for a few days. Once her strength was returned and her body was pristine, she would return. The assassin could only dream of the pleasure that would come with her sick revenge. After the humans, she would kill her employer. Rin would teach that bastard a lesson for setting her up a garbage assignment like this. That Mimi would get her dues.

Rin slowly began to sit up, trying to use her hands to reposition herself, but she felt back down face first onto the rock. Unsure of her current predicament, she reattempted to seat herself upright, but had nothing to push herself up with. Turning over to her back, she examined her arms, wanting to know the cause of these ghostly symptoms.

In reality, ghostly was a very accurate way to describe her forearms at that point. What was left of her arms ended at around her elbows, more or less. They had been cauterized, which would've explained the burning sensation she felt.

The assassin stared at the empty space surrounding her arms. They should still be there. They had to be. She could well enough feel her fingers move and her arm bend if she wanted. She felt herself make a fist with her left hand, so where in god's name was the fist. It was still there. It had to be there. They had to be real if she could still feel them!

Rin began to erupt into a river or tears, feeling an emotion which had been voided from her life for many years. The otter furiously bit into what remained of her left arm, digging her fangs into the soft skin and drawing as much blood as she could. Still, no matter how much self-inflicted injury she caused herself, she could still feel the invisible apparitions of her severed arms, mocking the killer with their nonexistence.

Those humans had done something far worse to Rin than kill her. By removing her means to fight, they had effectively wiped clean the mammal of her identity. The creature had no image to stand behind; no purpose to survive.

Rin thought to turn to suicide. Surely one of her knives could do the trick. Then, she remembered she had no hands to kill herself with, and screamed.


	22. That Feeling of Unease

_Schools back up, and unfortunately I didn't quite write as much as I wanted to this summer, but I suppose that happens and life will move on anyway._

_As for this chapter... I'm not 100% satisfied with it. That's not to say it's bad or illegible. There's nothing too wrong story wise or out-of-character, but I've just tried so many different versions and drafts of it and none have left me with that feeling of completion. Some felt too rushed or too slow pacing wise, sometimes I didn't like certain scenes and had to change or scrap them, and various stuff like that kept changing. Even the title just doesn't feel right to me._

_That being said, I loved writing lots of stuff in this chapter, like the introduction of a character you'll meet in this chapter was very fun to put together. I also enjoyed writing Ed's dialogue, which is usually arduous and challenging, especially when you have to write a character so dimwitted and nonsensical, yet so likeable and charming at the same time and still make him a main character._

_It leaves me wondering, what I should've done differently or if this was truly the best and most complete version._

_Well, this was the version I liked best and I want to at least post one chapter before my time to write slims down exponentially due to increased homework quotas and the start of my Wrestling season, so here it is! Hope you enjoy it more than I did._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Twenty-Two: That Feeling of Unease

**"Timpani… Oh god! What have I done?"**

**…**

**"Everything… it's all gone…"**

**…**

**"I'm so sorry."**

**…**

**_Our love was powerful._**

**_But with it, all she held dear was destroyed._**

**_Now she will mourn for her losses, and forever hate me._**

**_Father… you should've just killed me, not them._**

* * *

><p>Princess Peach felt relieved to have her footing back on stable ground. After finishing her day searching for the other children to no avail, Peach returned from the swamp and was on her way back to regroup with Mario, Nazz, and hopefully Tippi too.<p>

They certainly wouldn't take the news well, but looking for the kids in that swamp at night was out of the question. The para-goombas, para-troopas, and cheep-cheeps had all recovered from the tidal wave and were beginning to return to their respective patrol areas. The Princess spotted several of these teams returning to the lowlands and she wasn't willing to try and take them all on.

Hopefully Ed, Edd, Eddy, and Sarah could stay safe throughout the night… if they weren't already… "Stop it!" the Princess ordered herself. "They're fine! We just need to resume the search tomorrow."

Certainly the kids could handle themselves. Mario had already expressed to Peach that the trio of Eds could handle themselves just fine. The portly Italian man had told her about the strength and survival capabilities that they'd demonstrated in the previous dimension. Certain the Eds could handle one night out there, but what about Sarah?

The royal figure quickly dismissed the thought. The little girl would be fine. She'd been cleared to go with them on this mission. Besides, one of the boys was bound to have found her by now. However, despite the wishful thinking, the woman's impeding sense of judgment in the back of her mind still kept reminding her of everything that could and might've gone wrong.

As Peach began to eclipse the top of hill, the mansion came back into view. The sky, which had been a peachy orange color for most of the day, had transitioned into a purple and blue sunset, contrasting heavily with sky she knew well from back in the Mushroom Kingdom. The newly colored sky almost completely washed away the void from site; not that it was very noticeable to begin with.

This world was barely touched by the Chaos Hearts influence. The portal was smaller many of the drifting clouds in the sky. Sure, it would grow and eventually take this world to its doom, but that wouldn't be for a long time, perhaps weeks…

There in the distance, the mansion sat, looming tentatively on the horizon, bringing the promise of a bed to sleep in and freshly prepared meals to eat. The thought of it made the Princess envious and homesick. She knew however that that was selfish thinking; pining over a luxurious night while several of friends would be forced to spend a night in the wet, cold bog.

At the gates of the manor were many dots, no doubt her friends hoping for tidings of good news. "Boy, are they gonna be distraught…" Peach mumbled grimly. Before she continued onward, however, something caught the young woman's eye. There were around six or so visible shapes by the gate. Pining for a better look, the Princess pushed her golden bangs behind her ears, making sure nothing would be able to block out her vision.

The woman could hear a bit of chatter and laughing going on from the distance. Straining her eyes, she noticed several key visible features: a black hat, a short statured kid, red hair, and a green jacket.

Princess Peach broke out into a sob, running at full speeds towards her friends. All of them, even Tippi, had made it out of that awful swamp. When she arrived to her friends, she gave them all a big warm hug, relieved that her fears had been seized. They looked tired and were covered in sodden bandages, but all that mattered for now was that they were safe.

With their reunion at a close, Peach rested on top of a log while Nazz patched up her wounds and Sarah fixed her hair.

…

The outer walls of the manor were truly spectacular. The encompassing building was five stories high and was built with cement bricks, a chocolate colored wood, red tiling, and white marble columns. It was certainly a strange color scheme for a building, but it somehow all blended so well together. Ivy had begun to grow along the sides of mansion walls and tall rows of hedges were plastered tightly beside three of the four outer walls of the compound.

Strangely, the walls on the right corner of the mansion only had been fitted tightly interlocking iron bars. Also, only the top three floors of the right corner of the mansion were given metal bars on the windows. There was some devious about this building, but none of the heroes could put their fingers on it.

Double D approached the door cautiously and grabbed the old, metal knocker which was fasted on the left double door. He gave it two firm smashes and then took a couple steps back, hoping someone would answer soon.

Within seconds, there was an audible click of a key disabling the door lock. The two doors swung open and slammed against the brick walls to the sides. Everyone was sorely thankful that they'd stayed back a distance from the entrance, because the force of doors had left visible cracks in the walls to the sides. The wind from the doors felt almost like a slap to the face, so there was no telling how much damage those heavy, wooden slabs would've done.

Standing in the doorway was a tiny figure with round eyes and a wide grin. Firstly, none of the heroes could distinguish the creature's age. She was clearly female, but her appearance carried both the youthful look of a little girl as well as the poise and demeanor of a woman around her twenties or thirties. This ambiguousness was only the first thing which put the group off edge about the person.

The woman- or girl was shorter than both Sarah and Eddy, perhaps standing only three or so feet tall. She had sickly green skin, green hair of the same shade which was tied back into two frizzy ponytails, and chestnut brown eyes. The woman/girl wore a traditional French maid outfit, equipped with the black dress, white apron, and frilled bonnet which black and white trimmings. Her face had been decorated with various pink makeups that exaggerated her already unsettling face.

The humanoid female had somehow managed to look cute, hideous, and sophisticated at the same time.

Finally, despite her cheery appearance, the woman/girl had a clear apathetic look about her. Her smile was as fake as you could get and those "melt your heart" eyes were clearly a show. The team winced at the very sight of this offsetting character.

"Oh my gosh!" the maid shrieked at the new arrivals, curving her mouth in an 'o' shape. "What in the whole wide world happened to you poor guys?" The creature's voice was high-pitched and chirpy. This seemed to suggest she was a girl and not a woman, but this notion was still a rather unclear.

Mario regained his composure and tried to look as pleased as possible to see the girl, hoping to make a good impression with the person who would be their ticker to a good night's sleep and hopefully the next Pure Heart.

"Uh… I'm-a Mario, and-a this is my-a team," he told the girl. "We were-a attacked in o' the swamp. Also, we-a have o' business to the discuss with-a the proprietor of o' this mansion."

"Oh dearie me," the maid replied. "Of course, of course; come in, come in!" She rushed the humans and pixl inside and sat them down in the parlor room. The sitting area was surrounded by red, satin curtains and expensive matte paintings which hung from the wall. In the center of the room were tan chairs which purple lining and a wooden table, lined with magazines and crystal balls.

Once the guests had been sat down, the girl went right back to talking. "I'll guest some new, fresh bandages and ointments for those nasty, icky booboos right away." She promised. "The nice wool ones, with the cotton weavings. It'll be neato!" the maid added.

Just as she was about to dash off, Nazz called out, "Wait dude! We still don't know your name."

"Oh golly gee, silly me," the servant laughed. "I've forgotten my manners. I'm Rubella, the loyal handmaiden of her excellence, Merlee the all-seeing," she introduced herself. "But you can call me Ruby. Everyone does!" Ruby replied. "I'll be back with the first aid in a jiffy."

Once Ruby had left the room, Eddy spoke up. "I don't like that Ruby chick. She's not normal."

"Well neither is Ed, but we still trust him," Nazz replied.

Meanwhile, Ed had stuck his head against the glass sphere before him, observing the fortuneteller's tool. "I can see the future guys, but I'm still not old yet," Ed told his friends as he peered at his reflection. "Maybe I can ask my future self a future question about my future." The dimwitted boy stared at his mirror image with great interest. "Do I ever change my underwear?"

Double D's cheeks turned green and his face inflated like a balloon. Everyone else groaned a collective, "Ew…!" Sarah callously shook her head is disdain.

"Well… what I mean is; we trust that Ed is on our side," Nazz corrected herself.

"But she obviously doesn't care about us or anything," Eddy added. "She's not really all peppy and junk. It's an act."

"Well maybe it is." The Princess speculated. "Perhaps this Merlee would rather her help be cheerful and sweet and forced her to act like this."

"Seems reasonable," Double D agreed. "I wouldn't want my caretakers to be snide and blatantly obscene, that's for certain."

"I think she's the one who sent those creeps to kill us," Eddy said.

"Well that's a bit of a stretch isn't it, Eddy?" Double D replied.

"Says you; you made us keep that otter alive. What do you think is going to happen? She'll turn to a life of pixies and wonderland gunk?" Eddy asked his intelligent friend, cynically fluttering his eyes and producing a mushy smile as he brought up the 'life of pixies and wonderland gunk.'

"I stand by my plan of action back in that swamp. I will not kill unless in the most dire of circumstances." the Ed boy responded, thinking hard on the events which led him to 'kill' Fracktail. "Besides, that otter can no longer cause mayhem and chaos without the use of her arms."

"Whatever. I still say that Ruby is after the Pure Heart in this place. She's just too weird not to be after it." Eddy reasoned.

"I'm siding with Eddy." Tippi added in. "There's just something wrong with her energy. It's all twisted and muddled and I don't like it."

"Guys, we need-a to stop-a the speculations," Mario interrupted. "Every-o'-thing you all said could-a be entirely possible, but it's-a all just o' guesses. Tomorrow, we'll all go and-a talk-a to this Merlee and find-a out the o' truth." Mario finished.

Just at that moment, Ruby burst back into the room, carrying a large white box with a red cross on it. "I'm back with the first aid kit." She proclaimed. With that, she began to tend to injuries and other various needs of the heroes. Still, Eddy looked upon her with a distrusting gaze. Even as she fixed up his leg, he didn't trust the look in that girl's eyes.

…

To the surprise of the group, there was tons of extra housing space within the mansion. Each teammate received his or her own room, even Tippi. Each of the guest rooms was the same, with an assorted red palette for the walls and furnished with a king sized bed, several couches and chairs, a hand carved table, and a television. To top it all off, the rooms were each roughly about a third of the parlor's size, amounting to much more space than they needed to amass in a single room.

Night had long since fallen and the group of heroes began to converge within Mario's room. While Double D, Mario, Tippi, and Princess Peach began to discuss their next plan of action, the rest of the team had plopped themselves down to watch some T.V., knowing well that the other four were better suited at planning ahead and calculating what they would do next.

"I still don't like the vibe of this place," Tippi reinstated to Mario. "There's just something off here."

"Well, if-a this o' Merlee, is-a anything like-a Merlon; and I o'-ssume they are, because they-a both seem-a to be firmly placed in-a the field of magic, then I-a doubt this Merlee's bound to be o' little off as-a well." Mario rationalized.

"I don't just mean that," Tippi continued. "Haven't you noticed there are no other servants in this mansion? I haven't seen a single other one. I mean- why is it that there is enough space to give all of you your own room. Even I get my own room!" she shouted with emphasis. "I mean- look at me. I'm a pixl! How much space could I need?"

"Apparently all the space you need is lasagna man's cap," Eddy called back, referring to Tippi's habit of resting herself on top of Mario's head.

Tippi blushed and ducked her tiny head. She was very thankful against her rainbow colored body and tiny frame; it would take a prying eye to spot her reddening face.

"Oh, knock it-a off!" Mario called back. He refocused his gaze on the tiny butterfly. "I still-a think you're o' taking-a this a bit out-a hand, Tippi."

"She does have a good point though. Where is all the other staff? I know firsthand that it takes more than one employee to tend to a place this large," The Princess pointed out.

"Hmm… let's see here…" Double D began, sarcasm laced within his voice. "What has been the one common entity along our voyage which has chastised us through not only this dimension, but our previous one?" he asked the band of heroes. "Anyone?"

Mario, Tippi, and Peach blinked, completely thrown off track by the boy's question.

Double D rubbed his forehead in annoyance. "Oh, come on people! Is it really so strenuous to figure out?" The boy with the beanie hat faced the children sitting on the couch. "How about you guys? Certainly there must be something that you have noticed along our grand travels that has constantly _'thrown us for a loop' _per say?"

"Wrapping paper?" Ed replied curiously.

"Magic!" Double D screeched flailing his arms about like they were made of rubber. "It's magic; spell casting; hexing; bewitchment; alchemy; sorcery; enchantment; the supernatural! What on Earth could you guys have thought I was talking about? Oh no, don't tell me… it was wrapping paper! Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if Ed nailed exactly what you guys were thinking."

"Are you trying to make a point here, or are you just going to continue your ranting?" Eddy asked.

"Look, perhaps this Rubella is a mage of sorts who can complete monotonous chores with the wave of an arm," Double D explained. "Honestly, Mario's exactly right. We're clueless right now and we have no idea what true or false in this universe. Not only that, but Eddy, Ed, and I are still without a form of protection. Where are we supposed to acquire new tools for combat, should it come to that?"

Finally, Sarah had remembered exactly what had transpired in the swamp only hours ago. She slapped her face, mumbling about her blatant stupidity for already forgetting the powers she'd been bestowed. The red head stood up from her seat and walked over to the bed.

"I can help with that," she promised Double D.

The little girl placed her hands over the center of the bed and shut her eyes to concentrate on her ability. She focused her mind on the image of Double D's arrows, Ed's battle axe, and Eddy's knives. For a moment, Sarah began to worry. She'd never conjured tools so large before. She hoped that she was strong enough to create the amount of artillery needed for her teammates.

The skin in her hands began to sizzle and burn and she felt her body shake. Several tears fell from her eyes as she struggled to produce the energy sufficient to continue using this ability. Through the uncomfortable sensations, Sarah pushed on, determined to craft new weapons for her friends.

Once the pain began to subside and the tremors within her hands stopped, Sarah opened her eyes and looked upon her friends. They were flabbergasted, unsure what to make of the new occurrence. She looked down onto Mario's bed. There lay a newly crafted axe, a bundle of thirty or so arrows, and an organized pile of steel blade knives, organized by size and type.

Nazz was the first to respond. "You- you have a pixl!" she exclaimed.

Sarah nodded.

"Baby sister is special now!" Ed exclaimed, jumping from the couch and running to give his little sister a great big bear hug. As he scooped up his little sister, she smacked him across the face, forcing the older sibling to drop her.

"Don't touch me without a permit you lug," she groaned with signs or her cynicism for her brother peaking out of her evolving personality.

The two adults, Mario and Peach, both thought of intervening and scolding Sarah, but went against that judgment when they noticed how quickly the incident had subsided and by how seemingly unaffected Ed was. They both knew that Sarah was still trying to break the icy discontentment she formally carried for her brother and chose to let her cold behavior melt at its own rate.

Almost as if nothing had happened, Nazz began to ramble on with Sarah. "This is so cool. Now we both have awesome powers. You have to me what your pixl is like and what his personality is." Nazz demanded with excitement lining her voice.

"Uh… yah…" Sarah murmured glumly, knowing that sooner or later she'd have to explain to Nazz about the true fate of the pixls, and what hers had been withholding from her.

"When did this happen?" Eddy demanded to know.

"Back after we all got separated in the swamp. I found my pixl inside a chest in a hollowed out tree," Sarah recalled.

"How come she gets to have a pixl?" Eddy griped. "First Nazz gets a special power, then Sarah… why do all the girls get to have the cool stuff."

"You, Ed, Mario, and I all received a special enhancement to our sight to see invisible or otherwise magical things that normally only a pixl like Tippi could sense," Double D pointed out.

"Yah, but those are for boring, problem solving stuff." Eddy whined. "I want a power that gives me strength," Eddy mimed this out by hopping off the couch and throwing a couple of punches. "Speed," the boy continued by jogging in place. "And charm!" Eddy finished off by performing flip in midair, only to tumble onto his head and knock himself senseless.

Eddy's teammates chuckled at his self-proclaimed swagger and ill fated attempt at a front flip.

"Charming indeed," Tippi sneered.

"Lousy load of-" Eddy mumbled, pulling himself off of the floor. "I totally had that move down."

"Always the man with the plan, that's what you said to me, right Eddy?" Ed asked his fellow cul-de-sac companion.

"Pipe it, nimrod," Eddy grumbled as he stood up. As he brought pressure down on his left leg, he felt a shooting pain jump up his limb, through his gut, and into his torso. "Aw!" Eddy yelped as he buckled over onto the ground, clutching his injury like it was a baby.

"Eddy," Double D shrieked with concern, hobbling over to his friends and helping him off the floor and onto the bed. "Are you well?"

"Do I look well, sockhead?" Eddy shouted back sarcastically. "It still hurts!"

"Didn't Ruby tell you not to stand on that leg?" Peach inquired to Eddy.

"Oh yah, like I'm gonna trust that harpy and her stupid advice," Eddy answered sardonically.

"Didn't-a Frack-o'-tail tell-a you not o' to stand on-a that leg?" Mario asked blandly.

"Yah- well… I uh…" Eddy stammered, knowing full well that he'd paid no attention to the robot's instructions back in the Yold Desert. "SHUT UP!"

"Ugh…" Peach groaned. "No wonder it looked so bad in the swamp. You've just been making it worse." The Princess turned towards the other kids. "Could one of you guys take Eddy back to his room to lie down?" She asked.

"Express Ed on delivery!" Ed yipped. "No package is too large or too small for express Ed," Ed told Princess Peach, grabbing the injured boy and placing him under his arm like a package while gathering Eddy's bundle of daggers and his axe in his other arm.

"Put me down yah big lug," Eddy fidgeted, trying to fight his way out of Ed's grip.

"No can do, buckaroo," Ed responded. "Express Ed is one stop, no toll, all the way to Cincinnati!" He began to gallop out of the room, turn left down the hall and laughing in his wake.

"Ed!" Princess Peach called out. "Eddy's room is to the right!"

Ed and Eddy briefly came back into view of the others as the hefty child made an immediate u-turn and sped off past Mario's room and down the right hallway. "I did not agree to this!" the tiny and stubborn Ed-boy yelled as he briefly came into the view of his teammates through the doorway.

"Think we should intervene," Nazz asked the rest of the party.

"They'll be fine," Sarah added nonchalantly.

…

"Put me down you big lug!" Eddy struggled to fight through Ed's monstrous grip. Despite the usefulness for Ed's impeccable muscle, it always proved counterproductive to the smallest Ed boy when someone else used the hefty boy's strength against him. "I never agreed to this!" Eddy snarled at his friend.

"Sorry Eddy, but this is a democracy and everyone gets one vote," Ed explained as he trotted along, hardly feeling the resistance which his tiny armful produced. "I voted for the ham sandwich, you voted for the Swiss cheese, and everyone else voted for the mayo, which means you lose, buckaroo."

The stubborn child finally gave up his struggle, seizing his movement and lying limp as he was carried off to his bedroom. "If you armpit grease gets on so much as a hair of my shirt, I'm gonna-" Eddy stopped his nagging as a flicker of green caught his attention from down the hall.

"Ed hide, it's Ruby!" Eddy ordered.

"Ruby? Where?" Ed set down his companion and scoped the hall for the tiny hand maiden, briefly catching a glimpse of her at the end of the corridor. "Heyyah Ruby," Ed waved to the tiny servant.

"No you nincompoop, hide," Eddy snapped, reinforcing his previous order.

The two boys dove for cover at the end of the hallway, behind a corner. Ruby seemed innocuous enough, minding her own business as she swept the dust off the many doors of the manor with a grey feather duster. She seemed to be humming a little repetitive eight note ditty to herself as she worked.

"What do yah think she's doing here?" Eddy asked suspiciously, peering at the green figure from behind their hiding place.

Ed blinked. "Gee Eddy, even I'm not that stupid," he answered, blatantly aware of Ruby's innocent housework.

"Just wait a minute, she's hiding something," the smaller of the two Eds insisted.

So for several minutes, the two kids waited in silence as the green woman swept away the grime and dirt from oaken doors and metal upholstery which lined the sophisticated passage. Nothing out of the ordinary had occurred and the two children (or Ed at the very least) were about ready admit defeat and be on their way, until Ruby suddenly stopped what she was doing and began checking each of the doors nearest her.

It seemed as if the maid was looking for a sign that someone was nearby or would be able to at the very least hear her. Decided that it would be safe and unaware of the proximity of the two Ed boys, Ruby gave a confident smile and walked up to a wall between two neighboring doors in the hallway. Checking for intruders one last time, Ruby stepped into the wall as if it did not even exist.

The two boys almost couldn't believe their eyes. Had the little green woman just walked through the solid face of the house? Was this another display of magic? Perhaps a teleportation spell?

Recognizing the utilization of magic, Eddy activated his enchantment sensing vision. With his abilities equipped, he saw that the wall was a mere deception. A charm had been placed at this entryway to cover its existence from the naked eye. _'Maybe this power isn't totally stupid,' _Eddy reflected to himself.

Ed summoned his powers too, and remarked, "That's the coolest hiding place I ever saw."

"I knew that girl had something up her sleeve," Eddy stated with a sneer. "Come on, Ed," he motioned, hobbling off towards the secret passage way.

"But where're we going Eddy?" Ed asked with interest.

"Through the wall and up the secret hall, stupid," Eddy responded. "No one but Tinkerbell is taking me seriously about how that green girl is sketchy." The boy rubbed his hands together with a devious eagerness. "Once I get some evidence, I'll show them all how right ol' Eddy was." He looked back at his dimwitted and unhygienic counterpart and added, "Uh… you can take a little bit of credit too."

Ed's cheeks stretched out to his ears, contorted by the edges of his big, cheerful grin. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy…" Ed mumbled repetitively as he tended to do in bouts of excitement or in other instances of strong emotion.

"Hey, don't get a swelled head, I'm still getting credit for all the important stuff," the bossier of the two Eds reminded his less intelligent companion; his strong sense of greed peeking out from behind his bits of generosity.

_None too cautiously, the two heroes led themselves through the invisible door and up the stairway, with Eddy's partially noble and partially gluttonous motivations pushing them to discover the secrets which Ruby, Lady Merlee, and perhaps the mansion as a whole had in wait for them._


	23. The Weight of a Million Rubees

_Is anyone still there?_

_After a 10 month hiatus, I'm back. Heh, heh…_

_I feel bad that I never said anything, but life just sort of got in the way. I was swamped my entire school year, I've done wrestling non-stop, and I've been devoting a portion of my time to studying animation which I've recently garnered an interest in._

_Also, I kept rewriting this story. I actually went through three different versions of this chapter which in no way resembled each other. This is the final product._

_Part of me is sad, as I've probably lost a lot of fans over the course of this hiatus, but a part of me is excited for the opportunity to gather a new fan base for my fan fiction. Thanks to everyone who's stuck by this story through the lengthy hiatus, and I hope to post more soon. I also will be going back and finally fixing those blatant and god awful grammar errors (and other miscellaneous problems) in my earlier chapters._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Twenty-Three: The Weight of a Million Rubees

**"****Timpani…"**

**"****My- my whole…"**

**"****Ti-"**

**"****My… whole family…"**

**"****Timpani I…"**

**"****Everything is gone."**

**"****I-"**

**"****Why didn't your father just kill me too?"**

…

* * *

><p>Double D felt the sunlight before he could see it. The soothing rays tickled his face and made him aware that he was finally awake. Double D let out a wide yawn and stretched his stiff limbs, only to wince in pain and clutch his chest. <em>'Guess I shouldn't exert myself for a while.' <em>Double D noted.

Slipping out of bed, Double D entered the bathroom; his own private bathroom! Only in his wildest dreams would Double D have believed he would ever received his own personal lavatory, even if only temporarily.

Double D stripped out of his ragged wear and pulled off his over worn beanie, then he carefully removed his bandages from the night prior. The wound itself was by no means gone, but it had healed itself much faster than he had expected. The inflicted area had scabbed over and looked very clean. Ruby's treatment seemed to have done the trick. _'Remarkable…' _Double D mused.

After quickly fitting himself with a shower cap, the boy stepped into his personal shower. After over a week with only two brief washings in a communal shower in Flipside, Double D relished the opportunity give himself a proper bathing. For the first time in ages, he felt clean, fresh, and relaxed.

Once he finished, he toweled himself off, re-bandaged his stab wound, changed into a set of clean clothes (also provided generously by the mansion's benefactor) and covered his unsightly scalp with a fresh hat from his baggage.

The intellectual youngster was about to leave for breakfast, when a chilling sensation rushed through him. Even in this polished sanctuary, Double D felt an air of fear and unease. He grabbed his arrow holster and bow and slung both across his back. After the incident in the swamp, Double D wasn't taking any chances.

Double D left his room and waded through the halls of the manor. Now that the chaos of yesterday had settled, Double D began to notice all of the grandeur and effort that had gone into building this estate. Every minute detail was a testament of the sheer brilliance the designer's craftsmanship.

The carpets that lined the floors were splattered with intricate floral patterns and eye-popping colors. Though he wasn't sure, he could almost swear the walls had been hand painted; and lining those walls were rows and rows of eloquent paintings, hand blown light fixtures, and many other works of art. This mansion was beautiful in every sense of the word.

After strolling through a maze of passages and two floors of stairs, Double D finally arrived in the dining hall. Like everything else in the mansion, the dining room's décor was extravagant. Crystal chandeliers cascades from the high ceiling and glittered like stars; there was a long table draped in a silk tablecloth, stein glass windows that cast rainbow light across the room, and more paintings

Much to his surprise, everyone except Ed and Eddy had already beaten him to breakfast. Nazz and Sarah were sitting on the left of the table; playing some sort of game while Mario and Peach and Tippi sat on the right, busy filling themselves with coffee as they chatted amongst themselves. Just like Double D, the others had kept their weapons at arm's length.

"Salutations, fellow do-gooders!" Double D called out with elation to his comrades.

"Oh! Morning Double D," Nazz replied, finally noticing his presence. "Sit with me and Sarah," she beckoned, waving at the empty seat beside her. "We're playing 'Go Fish'."

"I thought we were playing 'Old Maid'," Sarah said in confusion.

"Oops… Well, we're playing something," Nazz decided. She waved again. "Well come on, dude."

His face reddening like a beet, Double D hiccupped slightly and muttered, "Coming."

Double D quickly joined the girls. They settled on Poker and began to deal each other in. Double D quickly overtook the girls in most of their hands; his skill with algorithms and probability was invaluable and was able to calculate which cards he would receive based on the turns prior.

After fifteen hands (eleven of which were in favor of Double D), the children felt something nudge at the back of their chairs. The three heroes yelped in surprise to discover three bony creatures with cerulean skin and a dog like gait. Their heads, void of all features except a gaping maw, barked gruffly at the trio making them yelp in surprise.

Sensing a commotion, the adults and Tippi craned their necks to see what the hubbub was about. As they caught sight of creatures, they were sure they'd fallen into another trap, but the monsters did not attack. For a few tense seconds, no one moved.

"Well go on, tell them what you want."

The kids yelped again and the adults flinched in surprise. Ruby had seemingly appeared out nowhere. The child-like servant was perched at the end of the long table, her eyes unblinking and fixated on the heroes. Her smile never faltered and was as plastic and unnerving as ever.

"E- Excuse me?" Tippi stuttered.

"The gnips," Ruby pointed the dog-like beasts. "They're servants; second to me of course!" Ruby made sure that point was emphasized. "They clean and cook and do all that other dumb stuff while I manage the important stuff." She explained. "Tell them what you want to eat. They'll understand and prepare it for you in a jiffy."

Then, a certain gleam cast across Ruby's eye, and her gaze strayed ever so slightly then fell back on the heroes. The gnips began to whimper. Her focus had only shifted for a mere second, but the group noticed anyways, shuddering at the servant.

"Well, golly! Guess I'm not needed here." The handmaiden stated. "I guess I'll be returning to my duties. You can give me a big ol' holler once you're done with your breakfast, and I'll take you straight to my enchanting mistress, Merlee." Ruby skipped off the table and trotted out the dining hall. The gnips whimpering and vehement shaking only halted once the Ruby's shadow fell out of view and last of her echoes died.

…

Breakfast came and went, and the heroes went and fetched Ruby. They insisted that they wake the two sleeping Eds before they did anything else, but Ruby reassured them that Ed and Eddy had already been fetched and brought to meet Merlee.

"Oh dear, with the impression those two are setting for us…" Double rambled. "All the more reason not to dawdle."

The diminutive servant led them in and out of winding corridors, up several flights of stairs, and to a large door that was made of a mysterious metal, not used for any other door in the mansion. It lacked a handle, instead bearing a large turnstile crank akin to that of a high security bank's vault access.

"What's with the door?" Nazz asked curiously.

"There are many secrets in these walls, but you're here to see Lady Merlee, so such is of unimportance," Ruby replied, not even looking at the girl.

Ruby pressed her child sized palm against the thick barrier. A sharp burst of purple light shot out of her fingertips traveled along the cold, steel surface and onto the turnstile knob. The knob began to spin left and right, perhaps reciting a magical code or instructions. Suddenly, the door froze and let out a low moan, following by a barely audible creak as the enchanted entrance opened ever so slightly.

_'__So, she's a magic user too,' _pondered Tippi.

The humans and their pixl companion followed Ruby into a strange looking forward, complete with two additional balcony style floors, and several other doors on each level that were armed with locking mechanisms of their own. Unlike the rest of the mansion, this room was not decorated.

Apart from a small table with an expensive looking pink vase sitting atop, there was no furniture to be seen. The walls were simply brick and mortar, without any wallpaper or paint to be seen. There was more noise here than anywhere else in the mansion. The heroes could hear a distant hum, a sharp crack every few minutes or so, and an undecipherable shout from a far off room.

Why had Ruby led them here?

"Now you all just wait right here! I'll be back in a jiffy split with lady Merlee," Mimi squeaked before she sped through a nearby doorway, slamming the door behind her with a resounding boom.

"I swear, she disappears on us the second we turn our back," Nazz grumbled, slumping her back against the wall.

Double D shifted his gaze, worriedly glancing back and forth across the room. "I'm a trifle confused here, didn't that maid say Eddy and Ed were within the vicinity. I don't see them anywhere near here."

"She said they were with Lady Merlee; I assume that's where they are," Peach deduced.

"But then why not take us to Ed, Eddy, and Merlee?" Double D pondered. "Why would she have brought those two to Merlee if she was just going to end up fetching her for us anyways?"

"I don't trust that girl, she's been dodging us and stalling ever since we got here," Tippi stated.

"Now-a listen, I don't-a like her o' either, but right-a now, Merlee is our o' best bet to-a receiving the Pure Heart." Mario reiterated. "Right now it's-a important that-a we keep on o' her good-"

"Wait a sec," Nazz interrupted. "Do you hear that?"

"Yes. We can all hear-a the hum and o' the cracks up-a-stai-"

"No! Not that," Nazz hushed them. "It sounds like… whispering…"

Everyone perked their ears and tried to hear past the distracting ambience from the rooms upstairs; much to their surprise, they found Nazz was right. A dull voice seemed to echo throughout the room, sounding no louder than mosquito. Everyone closed their eyes, trying to make out what the disembodied voices were saying, but alas the voices were just too faint to make out.

"Where is that coming from?" Tippi asked, trying to sense the location of the noise. "Wait a minute! Mario, Double D; use your vision. Maybe it's invisible." Tippi suggested.

Mario and Double D blinked their eyes and their pupils became a luminescent purple. They quickly rescanned their surroundings, and to their surprise, found that the ceiling had become invisible. Two figures, both apparently human, appeared to be shouting amongst each other while violently waving their hands about.

"There a room hidden above the ceiling," Double D explained to the rest of the group. "They look human, but I can't quite… wait is that-?"

Just then, the ceiling burst open and the two figures came careening towards the bottom level, accompanied by a stream of bats and large slug like creatures. The larger boy landed with a thud, just at the foot table that housed the vase. The smaller boy landed right on top the vase, which shattered instantly. Their impacted was followed by a rain of spectacle blue slugs, about the size of a person's head.

"Ed… Eddy…?" Tippi said in disbelief.

"One, two, I lost my shoe!" Ed shouted gleefully, displaying his bare left foot to the shocked group.

"This bites," Eddy said with a groan.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sarah asked. "Ruby said you were with Merlee."

"What're you talking about?" Eddy responded, visibly confused and angry. "We were trying to solve the mystery, and we got locked in an invisible room with bats and armored bugs for nine hours. What the heck are you guys doing here?"

Before either party could make sense of the situation, a large shriek erupted through the hall. Ruby had returned. She looked up the shards of porcelain strewn across the hall in horror. "You broke it!" She shrieked. "You doofuses!"

Ruby scurried up to the group. The green girl no longer hid her true self behind an uncomfortable, forced smile. Ruby's face had contorted into an angry, furious scowl, which much to the heroes' surprise was far more comfortable to look at.

"That was my most favorite vase you doofuses, and you broke it into a million little pieces!" Ruby shouted. "And you've let loose an infestation of shlurps and swoopers." Ruby pointed to the bluish bats and armor skinned slugs. "It'll take ages for gnips to clear all this up!"

"Wasn't me; Eddy did it," Ed pointed out.

"Oh give it a rest, you big idiot," Eddy groaned, pulling himself off the table and wiping the porcelain from his shirt.

"I don't care who did it, you're all just as equally to blame for damaging my piece of property," Ruby cried.

"I've-a had just o' 'bout enough-a of this!" Mario cried, finally slipping past his breaking point. "You may not-a be aware, but your-a world will-a be o' gone in a few-a weeks if we-a don't speak to o' your boss. All-a that-a you've done is-a lie and o' stall us, and now all-a you can-a focus on is your-a stupid vase-"

"Stupid?" Ruby roared, her green face turning a shade of red. "I'll have you know that that vase cost one million rubees. SO FORK IT OVER OR ELSE!"

"We don't have any rubees," Princess Peach replied, joining in on the yelling game. "And frankly, we don't feel inclined to pay a dirty liar such as yourself. You told us Ed and Eddy were with Merlee. What other lies have you been feeding us."

"No rubees?" Ruby answered, completely disregarding everything else the princess had said to her. "Well then, I guess you'll just have to work off your debt."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Peach said, demanding answers.

"You're currently standing in a prison," Ruby answered cheerfully, her face once again pulling itself back into that unnatural smile. Silence overtook the heroes. They nervously scanned their surroundings a second time; all of the sudden, the padlocked doors and vaulted entryway to this section of the mansion made sense, along with the barred windows they'd seen on the right corner of the mansion.

Ruby chuckled. "Yep, you no good vase breakers are in a prison. Lady Merlee run's the Third District's Male Human Prison Ward, which provides the mansion and the town east of here of all its electricity. Prisoners are given a debt based the crime they've committed, and are expected to work off their debt in order to become free."

"Says you, I ain't doing no grunt work," Eddy stated, crossing his arms in disgust. "I'm already stuck with a job I don't want, and I ain't getting saddled more stupid chores." Sticking his tongue out at Ruby, he turned around and hobbled off to the turnstile door. "If you need me, I'll be-" Eddy paused, scanning the door for a handle or some form of grip. "Where's the handle on this stupid thing?"

"Golly, did I not say…?" Ruby asked rhetorically. "Did I mention that prisoners cannot exit the prison until their debt is paid off in full? A spell seals all no good law breakers. Isn't that just nifty or what?"

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Eddy said, before he furiously began to pound against the metal entrance. "Open, damn it!" Eddy yelled as he bashed furiously against the door. "Ed, use your axe you numbskull!" Eddy ordered.

"Can do, buckaroo," Ed replied. The large boy took off, axe in hand, ready to bash the door down. Eddy jumped to side, just as Ed came forward and delivered the first swinging chop. Ed pulled back his blade and brought another hacking against the door. Just as reared back for a third blow, he noticed the first chop he made was already repairing itself. Moments later, the second tear in the metal was knitting itself back together.

"The door is self-repairing," Double D said, awestruck.

"Indeed, as are the walls, floor, and ceiling," Ruby added with a smile.

"Mario-"

"I all o' ready checked," Mario said before Double D could ask, his pupils a shimmering violet. "There's indeed a barrier that locks us in here."

"I see no need to confiscate your weapons; they'll do you no good here, just please don't go starting fights. That'd be rather naughty, wouldn't you agree." Ruby advised.

"You tricked us," Mario said curtly.

Ruby didn't so much as blink. "Gee, you better get started. You folks sure do have a lot of money to work off. I'll be in my office down the hall, awaiting your payment of one million rubees." With that, Ruby gave a slight curtsy and tiptoed back to her office with the heroes staring daggers at her back.

For nearly an hour, Tippi tried to use her magic to undue the curse that locked them prison, but Tippi herself knew only simple spells and remedial sorcery. It probably would've taken a wizard of Merlon's expertise to have a shot at undoing the spell.

Exiting through a doorway would've proved futile, and the self-repairing enchantments in this section of the mansion made an unconventional escape method impossible.

With their options for escape exhausted, Mario determined that the only way to proceed was to play Ruby's game and collect the rubees as quickly as possible. The others were quick to express their ire for the red clad man's plan, particularly Sarah and Eddy.

"You're just telling us to give up?" Sarah barked.

"That's the worst plan ever! I thought you were some sort of knight that played by his own rules, but now you're just gonna go and be that little witch's puppet?" Eddy stated, infuriated at the Mushroom Kingdom's resident.

"Why don't we just go and beat the pulp outta that green girl?" Sarah suggested.

But Mario persisted. "We can't-a escape, that-a much is o' clear. Beating Ruby-a senseless won't-a get us any o' closer to-a leaving."

Tippi backed up Mario. "Taking out Ruby might be the wrong way of going about this," the rainbow pixl warned. "If we put her into submission, then there may be no way to undo the curse."

After much deliberation, the entire group finally agreed to begrudgingly work off their debt of one million rubees.

…

The heroes found the generator room on the third floor. It was a dank, cold dungeon with rusted walls and grimy floors. The air was hot and musty and barely any light shown through the windows which were covered under years of dust and mold. Scattered across the room were various generators which were being powered by the prisoners through a onslaught of devices which were all driven by manual labor.

The majority of the criminals were stationed on one of several electric belts, lined with floating boxes which were connected to wires that ran along the wall. The prisoners stood along the belt, jumping up and punching the blocks to create a volt of energy. A long blue spark ran across the belt, ensuring that any man who refused to jump received a painful jolt of encouragement.

Down near the end of the room were six gerbil wheels which hooked up to the wall and fitted with wires. The inmates were locked inside the wheel and ran to produce electricity. At the very end of the room were two stationary bicycles and two treadmills.

The gerbil wheels and exercise equipment were all taken, probably reserved for more elite prisoners. There were however plenty of openings along the belts.

Most of the humans in the room were no taller than Mario, who was below the average height of the normal man, standing at only five feet and three inches. The humans in this dimension had skin varying in shades of pink and orange. Most of the prisoners had pink skin, while guards had more orange skin, indicating that pink skin was probably a result of an extensive lack of sunlight. Apart from that, the humans of this world were almost identical to humans from Earth.

The prisoners dawned striped uniforms of black and white with matching caps, while the guards donned a slave drivers outfit, with an Egyptian-resembling shawl, a white tunic, and a whip for effect.

One of the guards approached the new inmates, eyeing them with suspicion. "You eight, you don't look right; you new inmates?"

"Dude, is that a spray tan?" Nazz asked absentmindedly.

"Yes," Princess Peach quickly intervened. "We're here to pay off a debt."

The slave driver turned to Peach and flashed a conceited grin. Peach shuddered inwardly.

"Funny you three being here," the guard said, gazing lustfully at Sarah, Nazz, and the Princess. "We don't usually get women in this prison." The three girls began to blush and shrink in place. Sarah managed to pull an angry scowl, but her fear was still very evident. "Whaddaya say you three come with me and-?"

Mario stepped in front of the group's three feminine members before the orange man could finish his proposal. "I don't-a care if-a you're o' guard. If you-a so much as-a look at o' these-a woman, I-a will-"

The guard broke out into a fit of maniacal laughter. "Me? It's not me you need to worry about. Heh… It's them," the guard clarified, pointing his thumb over his shoulder.

To the group's surprise, a good portion of the prisoners were narrowing their eyes on the new arrivals. Some were scoping out their unusual garb and sizing up their new competition, but the grand majority was just taking in an eyeful of the three girls.

"Most haven't seen a woman in years; much less… slept with one…" the guard told them ominously.

The guard then reached into a pocket in his tunic and pulled out seven gold plated wristbands with a tiny screen. "You'll need these. They measure the amount of energy you produce and calculate the amount of rubees you've earned based on it. Wear 'em whenever you're working, otherwise it doesn't count towards the rubees you earn. I assume the butterfly won't be contributing, so you'll only need seven." The guard explained quickly. "Well, if there's nothing else to discuss then I suggest you get to it."

With that, the guard strolled off and went back to harassing the other prisoners with his whip.

"Alright, first-a things o' first," Mario began. "The Princess, Sarah, and-a Nazz will-a need to o' be-a with someone-a else at-a all times. No exceptions!" he added firmly.

Nazz began, "But we can-"

"NO EXCEPTIONS!" Mario reiterated. "This is-a for o' your own-a good. I have-a no doubt you-a could probably handle o' one or-a maybe two guys-a by-a your-o'-selves, but I'm-a not gonna take-a the risk of a one-a of o' you getting-" Mario stopped himself, but the group knew exactly how Mario planned to finish that sentence.

"Peach, you-a come o' with me," Mario said decisively. "You-a too Tippi. Double-a D, Nazz, and-a Eddy can o' go together, and-a Ed, you can-a go with o' Sarah."

"It's a quarter to noon right now," Tippi pointed out. "We should meet up again in around four and assess our total values."

"Don't-a forget, these are-a dangerous criminals. Keep-a your-a weapons at-a your o' side, and stay on-a alert." Mario added before the group broke.

…

Ed and Sarah found empty spots over by the far corner of the room, near the normal exercise equipment. As they walked over to the open spaces, Sarah felt a million cynical eyes peer at her with their impious gaze. She felt uncomfortable and sickened at their looks and pulled her red bangs over her eyes in shame and embarrassment.

The hoards of prisoners let out jeers, snickers, and whistles. Sarah tried her best not to let it get to her, but she couldn't help but feel dirty and vile at all the taunts and catcalls that came at her from every which way. She felt on the verge of tears, but then she felt her brother's arm come around her.

Ed gave her a reassuring squeeze, and Sarah began to feel better. Through his horrible body odor, unkempt appearance, and dimwitted disposition, Sarah realized how often she overlooked Ed's soft, caring personality. "Uh… thanks Ed." Sarah started, trying to properly express her gratitude.

"That's what big bro's are for sis," Ed replied with a big grin.

"Hey ginger!" jeered a bulky inmate a few paces from the siblings. "Why don't yah ditch the dope with the unibrow and catch some action with-"

"Do not taunt my baby sister!" Ed yelled; his dopey smile now replaced with a menacing grimace. Ed leaped from his spot and launched himself head first at the prisoner, bashing his skull against the pink skinned man. The man collapsed, unconscious from the collision while Ed remained virtually unscathed. All of the taunting and hoots ceased as the prisoners looked on in shock at the sheer force of the child.

"Ed… that was incredible!" Sarah cheered. "I love you and your big stupid head," Sarah said, returning Ed's hug.

"My head is full of rocks, just like you said it was Sarah," Ed told her.

The two siblings continued on to the open spots, the rest of their stroll remaining free of taunts and jeers. Once they reach the two free blocks, they put on their wristbands and began the arduous process of pounding away for rupees.

…

Mario and Peach had already starting pounding their blocks when they noticed the room had gone silent. They saw down near the corner one man had fallen unconscious and standing over him was Ed crouched in a sumo position and Sarah, hugging her elder sibling dearly.

Noticeably, a good majority of the jeers directed at the three women had stopped.

"Ed never fails to impress me," Tippi said.

"He does seem to grow on you, doesn't he," the Princess added.

"They all-a do," Mario finished as he jumped up, punching his block once again.

…

"Eddy." Double D muttered as he hit his block.

Taken aback by the call, Eddy fell short on his jump and landed on his back. All too coincidentally, he happened to fall right on top on the traveling blue spark. Eddy's body was engulfed in tiny sparks, and his body convulsed before the spark eventually passed. Eddy collapsed, and his skin began to smoke lightly. The other prisoners snickered at his misfortune.

Quickly avoiding the sparks, Nazz and Double D rushed to his aid.

"Eddy! Eddy!" Double D shouted in a panicked voice.

Nazz lifted Eddy head and torso off the conveyer belt. "You okay dude?" Nazz asked concernedly.

"Does anyone else smell pork rinds?" Eddy mumbled incoherently.

"Eddy, I found some coins lying on the floor," Double D lied, trying to coax Eddy out of his dazed state.

"MONEY!" Eddy shrieked with excitement, bolting up from Nazz's arms. "WHERE?"

"I was being facetious." Double D replied bluntly.

"So… you were lying to me…?" Eddy asked confusedly.

"No, I was being facetious." Double D repeated.

Eddy blinked. "So you're not gonna tell me where the money is?"

"Look Eddy, I need to say something," Double D took a deep breath and began. "I was wrong."

Eddy and Nazz blinked.

"Come again?" Eddy said, unsure what to make of Double D's statement.

Double D hung his head and explained, "I said you and Ed were slackers and that you didn't care about your parents, but I… I mean… ever since I said that, you and Ed have proven yourselves as nothing but helpful, resourceful, and caring of others. Why, Ed took on that otter, Rin, in that swamp without a problem and he just took out that man who was harassing Sarah." Double D looked up at Eddy. "And you, Eddy- You've not only saved mine and Ed's life from that crane, Hebei, but you also fought marvelously against Rin. Not to mention there's the fact you were right about Ruby, and I was too blind to see it, but- I mean… what I want to say is-"

"Sockhead, shut up," Eddy said, much to Double D's surprise. "You talk too much… but you're still my best friend." Eddy gave Double D a warm smile and extended his hand. "We're cool, right?"

Double D returned the smile, and extended his hand. "Consider this a new leaf, Eddy."

As the two boys grabbed each other's hands and shook, ending the bad blood between the two of them.

"Aw… you guys are so awesome." Nazz cooed, jumping onto the both them and hugging them at the same time. As she held the two boys, a scarlet blush crept up both of their faces.


	24. The Deal

_There's a lot of big numbers in this chapter, so I added actual numbers where I found it to be necessary, just to make it easier to read._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Twenty-Four: The Deal

**…**

**_I loved her._**

**_And my love destroyed all she knew._**

**_But yet…_**

**_…_**

**"****Blumiere…"**

**"****Timpani!"**

**…**

**_She still came to see me._**

* * *

><p>"Mine says I've earned about four hundred rubees," stated Nazz. "I must've punched that stupid block like two thousand times or something…" Nazz groaned, rubbing her sore fist. "What about you?"<p>

"Three hundred or so…" Sarah muttered under her breath, feeling ashamed at her total.

Eddy let a choked laugh. "What, that's it pipsqueak?" He teased. "I got a bum leg, but I still got like fifty more than you," He pointed out, sticking his heavily bruised left leg. Sarah's face began to redden and she mashed her teeth together, trying to hold back her swelling anger. "What's the matter, did I strike a nerve on little Sarah? HAHAHA!" Eddy began to point and laugh even harder at Ed's sister.

The short red-head had had enough. She let a rage filled scream and sharply kicked the boy in bend of his good leg. Eddy let out sharp cry of pain and collapse on the floor, clutching both his knees into his chest in pain.

"What's a matter Eddy?" Sarah cooed mockingly. "Is your bum leg giving you any trouble?"

"Knock it off, both of you!" Tippi demanded. The rainbow colored butterfly was beginning to grow tired of the constant bickering that seemed to erupt from the children in the group at any given moment.

"Oh, give a rest Tinkerbell," Eddy said as Ed helped him up to his feet.

After nearly four hours of work, the group found that their efforts had turned up very meager profits. The total sums earned were as such:

Mario: 873  
>Ed: 776<br>Double D: 554  
>Princess Peach: 532<br>Nazz: 407  
>Eddy: 364<br>Sarah: 308

The total accumulation of rubees equaled exactly three-thousand eight-hundred and fourteen (3,814). Double D did some mathematics in his head and came to the conclusion that if they continued on doing two four hour sessions each day (minus the single session today), and if values from each session were their mean accumulation, then (rounding up) it would take at least one-hundred and thirty-one days to pay off their debt.

"That's over four months!" the Princess shrieked. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"That's a generous estimate, to say the least," Double D admitted sheepishly. "Depending on how things go, we could be stuck here far longer than that."

"You did that all in your head?" Nazz said, dumbstruck.

"We don't have four months," Tippi pointed out. "I'd give this world three or four weeks, maybe a month tops, and believe me… that's a generous estimate."

"So we're hosed," Eddy groaned, throwing his hands up. "Well that's just fantastic."

"Well there's gotta be a way to earn rubees faster. Maybe we can use one of those hamster wheels," Nazz reasoned.

"Fat chance," Sarah retorted. "Those sick pervs don't exactly seem like the type who'd be willing to share."

"Maybe if-a we gave-a them o' little incentive," Mario suggested.

"We could give tell them that we have macaroni." Ed added.

"Or-a we could-a tell o' them the truth," Mario countered.

…

The prison dormitory was far too small to house the amount of prisoners it contained. Nearly two-hundred men were forced to sleep in a room of bunk beds that were packed within half a foot of each other. The framework of the beds was rusted brown and many were on the verge of collapse, the mattresses were also lumpy and torn, and blankets and pillows were in short supply, only provided to the most senior prisoners.

The heroes found two pairs of unoccupied bunk beds near a secluded corner. Mario, Peach, and Tippi announced to the rest of the group that they were off to turn in what rubees they had collected, but first, they were off to talk with some other convicts and hopefully reach some kind of agreement.

"You five are to remain planted here while we're gonna," the winged pixl ordered.

"Why do we-"

Eddy was cut off by Mario. "That's-a final! Your-a well o' being comes above all-a else; but also, we can't-a risk-a losing any of-a you o' three Eds." Mario finished.

Eddy couldn't argue. Even he knew Mario was right; if one of the Eds went missing or possibly died, there would be no hope left of saving the universes from the void. The incident in the swamp had been too close a call and the time for taking risks was over.

"Stay together; we'll be back in a few hours," Peach promised.

With a final goodbye, the two adults and their pixl companion departed. _'Please be safe,' _Mario silently prayed as he took one last look at the minors.

They departed for the mess hall, where a majority of the criminals in the prison were just finishing their dinner. (Mario and co had gone and eaten early, to avoid the unseemly crowd.) The cafeteria was just as filthy as the generator room and the dormitory; maybe even more so, as there were bits of molded food laying about and old, grimy trays lying about the floors and on top of the tables that were scattered across the room.

The trio began to ask around, trying to find out who were the senior prisoners or who had the most rubees as of current. At first, their search was fruitless, as none of the prisoners would cooperate. Many would simply tell them to "buzz off" while others would make lewd remarks about Princess Peach.

One particular prisoner who attempted to make a kissing face at the noblewoman received a sharp slap to the face from the princess herself.

"Nice-a one," Mario remarked, proud of Peach for sticking up for herself.

"If he wants to be a prick, he'll get what's coming to him," Peach stated firmly.

"I oughta give you a lashing you blonde bit-"

Mario socked the man in the eye, sending him careening to the floor. Grabbing him by the collar, the Italian yanked the prisoner from the floor and smashed him against the wall. He then gave a sharp knee to the prisoner's groin, making the inmate let out a strangled grunt of agony. The man gazed fearfully into Mario's eyes which burned of a passionate anger; the prisoner realizing he'd gone too far by insulting the woman within earshot of Mario.

"I-a oughta beat the stuffing outta o' you until-a you turn-a purple," Mario hissed, reeling his arm back for another punch.

"No, no, no! You don't wanna hit me no more," the prisoner panicked. "You hit me, and you and that broad over there are gonna get it! I got connections and if you even so much as touch me, you three and those kids are wish you were dead, see?"

Mario's ears perked with interest. He released the man's shirt and glared at him. "Connections, you-a say?"

The prisoner gulped, realizing he'd said more than he should have. He looked towards the other detainees for support, but they simply ignored his plight, pretending the scene in front of them didn't exist.

Through a bit of rough interrogation with the prisoner, the trio deduced that a man named Nero was the person to look for. He appeared to be some sort of syndicate leader, with a ton of connections inside and outside the prison, and from the sound of him; he was bound to be loaded with rubees.

They found Nero amongst a circle of burly and robust inmates. Nero himself, however, was not well built at all. Unlike many of the prisoners, he managed to retain his orange complexion. He had narrow eyes, a neatly trimmed beard, and smile full of gold teeth.

Nero chuckled in the presence of the prophesized ones. A couple of his beefier goons stood up to clear the three of them away, but Nero waved his hand and made them stop. "Hold your horses boys, I think we're taking one step too many. They just want to chat." Nero's cohorts grumbled something under their breath and returned to their seats. The syndicate boss directed his attention at two new prisoners and their pixl. "Sorry about them. They get antsy around new guys." He motioned to two open chairs. "Have a seat. Eat the grub," He suggested, spooning at some mashed gruel. "It ain't good, but it's something."

"We already ate, but thanks," the Princess relayed.

Mario and Peach took a seat while Tippi rested herself atop Mario's cap like she usually did.

"You two go off and put your kids to bed?" Nero asked.

Peach slammed her hands against the table and pointed accusingly at the boss. "What do you wanna know about them!" she hollered.

"Relax…" Nero said. "We're just having a conversation, ain't we?"

Peach slumped back into her chair, a cross expression boared into her face.

Mario stared at Nero, not sure how to approach this situation. _'Would it be best to tell the truth?' _He pondered. _'But then again…' _Mario scanned the prisoners around him nervously. _'Would revealing our mission cause an outcry here? That's the last thing we need. Maybe I can just reason with him, or haggle… would that work?' _Mario decided to give it a go.

"I'm-a going to-a be frank," Mario began. Nero nodded. "We need-a to o' borrow just-a a little over-a nine-o'-hundred ninety-six thousand (996,000) rubees." Mario requested in the most serious face he could muster.

Nero and his goons burst out into a frenzy of laughter, unable to take Mario's request in all seriousness.

"Please!" Tippi begged amidst the crooks' shared mirth. "This is important. We can't stay here; there's so much at stake right now."

The head prisoner gradually pulled himself together, wiping some tears out of his eyes. "Listen," he began. "I here you're in for million rubees; collectively at that! That's nothing. You'll be out of this joint in a few months, a year tops." Nero explained. "Now me, they had to invent a new number when they assigned me my debt. I got the dough you folks need, but I'm in no position to fork it over." He glanced at Peach. "I do sympathize with you people. That bitch, Ruby, is just sick, locking up women and girls in a place like this. Look, if your woman and those kids don't feel safe, I could arrange for some protection. My men won't step a toe outta line with you, I swear it."

Mario sighed. "Your-a hospitality is well-a appreciated, but we can't-a stay."

"There's a lot lives at stake," The rainbow dyed butterfly added, trying to emphasis the importance of leaving the prison, while still not divulging the entire truth.

"We all got people to worry about," Nero said. "That's just part of life." The crime boss turned to one of his minions and said. "Hyu, sui' lo kenshi aki' do'io wa." The lanky servant reached into his uniform pocket and pulled out a carton of cigars. "Thanks, Hyu." Nero pulled out a cigar then held out the box to the Princess and Mario. "Want one? They're cinnamon," he offered.

"No thanks," Mario said curiously. "That-a language. What o' was it?" Mario asked curiously, feeling as those he'd heard it before.

"Lizard speak," Nero replied absentmindedly. "It's what all those damn slimy skinned reptiles speak. Yah have to learn it to do business with 'em, cause those cretins won't bother to learn Common speak. Hyu here was raised by a family of 'em; English was never his strong suit."

"Lizard? Wait, Mario! In the swamp, that was what-" Peach stuttered with an epiphany.

"That assassin, of course!" Mario replied.

"Wait, assassin?" The organization leader was suddenly ripe with interest. "This I gotta hear. What happened to you guys?"

"Down-a in o' that-a swamp, my-a group was-a attacked by o' three killers," Mario explained.

"Who?" Nero asked with a deep fervor.

"A blue lizard that could control water through telekinesis, a crane with hypnosis powers, and a knife artist otter," Peach explained. "I didn't catch the names of the first two, but I think the kids said the otter was named Rin…"

The table let out a collective gasp and all of the gang members dropped their silverware, mouth agape and eyes popping out of their sockets.

Nero couldn't believe it. "Let me get this straight… You two, a group of pre-teens, and a bug tangoed with… Kyusu of the sea, Hebei of the sky, and Rin of the land…" he muttered, demanding verification. "And you all got away…" Several other tables went silent at the mention of the assassins' names. This group clearly had some fame to their name.

Seeing a chance at some leverage for barter, Mario tested his luck replied, "Yes." There were cries of shock and puzzlement around the room. "There's-a more; Kyusu's dead. I-a killed-a him." He announced.

"That's a load of bull," one of Nero's henchmen countered.

"And Eddy killed the crane, Hebei." Princess Peach added.

"That's impossible!"

"Nero, they're lying!"

"I'll make 'em to shut up!"

"It's true!" Tippi protested against all the cries of denial. "We've been tracking something valuable, and someone must've sent them after us to stop us from finding it!"

"What of Rin?" Nero asked, stuck in a visible stupor.

"She's still alive, but her arms are gone. She's harmless now," the pixl reassured the crime lord.

"Don't count on it." Nero argued, visibly shaken at trio's confession. "Knowing Kyusu and Hebei are gone is a relief, they were enough trouble as it is, but… Rin is like a curse. She'll be back; and she'll kill you… count on it…"

"Then we need to leave, before she can find us," Tippi suggested.

"She'll find you anyways," Nero countered with no expression in his voice.

"Look, we've-a got o' bigger problems than-a Rin right-a now!" Mario yelled furiously. "If you can't-a help o' us, then we'll-a find some-a-one who o' will."

Nero remained motionless, his breathing heavy and labored, and his eyes glued to his food. Without changing positions, he reached into his pocket and fished out a sheet of folded scratch paper. His cohorts tried to protest his decision, but Nero defended his actions, stating, "They need it more than me, and you ingrates don't boss me around." He handed the paper to Mario.

Mario opened it up. The sheet read:

**"****5-4-3-8-1-2-3-4-8-8"**

"I heard Ruby saying it in her sleep." Nero briefly explained. "It may be a combination, or a password, or a riddle, but I feel in my heart that it's the key to getting out of here."

"Thank you." Mario replied. "If-a it's-a not o' too much trouble, we-a wouldn't o' mind the-a free security."

Nero shook his head. "You won't need it." Mario raised an eyebrow. "Your group killed two out of three of the Federation of Tsuyuba's most wanted criminals, and everyone knows it now." Nero explained. "You won't have any problems here…"

…

"Please deposit the rubees in the slot to your left," Ruby said with a smile, now dressed in a blue work dress with a white collar and red necktie instead of her maid attire.

Ruby's office was a small, confined room on the first floor, filled to the brim with posters and signs that encouraged one to "Work Harder" and "Be Positive". Mario, Tippi, and Princess Peach desperately wanted to rip those posters off the walls and tear them to shreds. Ruby herself was separated from the heroes by a small cubicle, surrounded by a glass walls. For some reason, a layer of bricks had been added to the wall at the back of the room.

Mario hauled the sack of gemstone over his shoulder and tipped the bag, letting the money pour into the slot. Once the sack was empty and all the gemstones had fallen into the slot, Ruby typed some commands into the old computer in front of her. The computer beeped and whirred as it tallied the total number of rubees. After two minutes, the machine let out a loud ding gave Ruby a total on the screen.

"Three-thousand eight-hundred and fourteen! Golly, you guys sure have been doing a lot of work, haven't you!" Ruby said with a smile. Mario, Peach, and Tippi scowled back. "That leaves you guys with nine-hundred ninety-six thousand one-hundred and eighty-six (996,186) left to go. You'll be there no time!" she added cheerfully.

The princess responded by wadding up a load of saliva and mucus in her throat and spitting it angrily against Ruby's window. Ruby blinked and her smile twitched as she worked to keep her composure.

To top the princess' gesture, Mario decided to add insult to injury by raising his middle finger in salute to Ruby. Ruby's smile vanished and the green girl was now just struggling to hold in her anger.

"Cow…" Tippi muttered under her breath, just loud enough for Ruby to catch.

As the three heroes exited the room, they heard a loud bang followed in succession by long chain of swears and names of a derogatory nature. The three chuckled as Ruby continued her tantrum in the confines of her isolated room.

As they walked back to the dormitories, Mario gave Peach a thumbs up, along with an appraisal. "Nice loogie."

Peach laughed in response. "Thanks, and that was a nice _'bird'_ if I do say so myself." She told Mario.

"Yeah, but I think it was Tippi's insult that really sent her over the edge."

"You're right. All credit goes to Tippi for sending the _cow_ over the edge."

The insect shaped pixl blushed, "Oh… it was nothing." The rainbow palette butterfly responded sheepishly. "I was thinking of a few worse words, like…" Suddenly, Tippi froze up. She set herself atop a banister and sat, listening. "Something's calling to me," Tippi said eerily, looking up the stairs.

Mario and Peach looked at Tippi with puzzlement. Peach found herself wrought with worry, having never seen the pixl enter such a trance before; Mario on the other hand was overwhelmingly curious, as he'd seen the butterfly caught in this sort of stupor once before, when she was tracking a faint magical seal in Yold Town.

"Tippi, what's wrong?" Peach asked with concern.

"Can you sense anything?" Mario wanted to know.

Tippi didn't answer. She flew off, up the first set of stairs and down the hall. Mario and Peach rushed after the pixl, who'd sat herself at the base of the dead end. "Mario," Tippi beckoned, gazing wistfully at the brick barrier. "I think I feel another seal, made by the Tribe of Ancients."

"Another-a pixl?" Mario asked.

"I- I don't know…" Tippi admitted.

"Even if there is a pixl beyond this wall, it's not like we would be able to reach it," the Princess brought up. "These walls can't be broken, and we're sealed in this part of the mansion."

"I wonder if-" Mario muttered before blinking his eyes, activating his power. He focused his telescopic vision at the wall, he saw that a tiny portion of the bricks at the bottom center of the wall were just an illusion. "There's a small-a shaft right o' there." Mario indicated to Peach and Tippi, pointing to the invisible passage.

"Do you think we could fit through it?" the Princess asked.

The hole was four brick lengths wide and five brick lengths tall; Mario recognized that he was just too large to squeeze through the passage. "I think I'm-a bit too-a…" He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, seeking a optimistic word to use, "well-built…" he decided. Peach and Tippi sniggered as the man in red frowned with embarrassment. "Peach, you should-a be thin-a enough to get-a through, and o' Tippi can-a definitely make it." He finished.

"My hero…" Peach overdramatically swooned, balling her hands and raising her arms to her chest in a mocking display of false praise. Mario childishly stuck his tongue out, his blush now even more prominent.

The Princess sat herself on her knees and felt for the entrance. She gasped slightly as the tips of her fingers grazed the ethereal bricks and sunk through them like air. Taking a deep breath, she lay on her stomach and pulled herself into the channel. Much to her surprise, the illusion did not cease once she had slid into the tunnel. It was as if she'd been buried alive and boxed in with rows of cemented bricks; she couldn't even see her arms as they flailed about wildly in front of her. Peach was suddenly overcome with a rush of claustrophobia; she felt her heart race like timer, her breathe shorten, and she felt an immense urge to crawl back out of the tunnel the way she'd came.

"Close your eyes," a tiny voice called out. Peach flinched; Tippi sounded as though she'd already passed her in the tunnel. "The bricks aren't real. Close your eyes and you'll feel much better."

Trusting the pixl's advice, the Princess shut her eyes, trying to ignore the magic that surrounded her. "Just crawl forward. The tunnel is really short," Tippi advised. Reaching her arms out, Peach began to slowly pull herself through the shaft, all while reminding herself that she was in an open passageway and that she couldn't possible run out of air or become trapped.

Once the Princess felt he finger latch onto a corner, she hauled herself out of the tunnel and finally opened her eyes, but found that that hardly did her any good. The room was pitch black, save for a feint rainbow glow that shone from Tippi's insect wings. The only object visible in the room was a small chest that Tippi sat upon.

Using her hands feel for anything furniture or otherwise that might be in her way, the blonde princess made her way over to the chest and sat in front of it. She squinted her eyes, trying to make out a lock or hatch. "Tippi, could hover in front of the chest?" Peach requested, in need of extra light.

The pixl happily obliged and flew in front of the case; with the pale light from Tippi, Peach could just make out a small latch on the front of the box. Peach tugged at the handle, hopping it would break off or loosen, but thankfully, the case didn't seem to be locked. With a quick yank, the chest flew open.

"Know the secret…?" a tiny voice whispered.

Before Peach could react, a radiant ball of orange light burst from the chest, cutting through the darkness and temporarily blinding the Princess.

"Cuz I do!" the voice screamed, no longer quiet and meek as before. "The secret to an ancient power, that is!"

Peach rubbed her eyes as she struggled to adjust to new source of brightness. She squinted and let her vision focus on the ball of energy. As her eyes began to clear, the orange mass began to take shape the shape of a triangle, or so it appeared, as the darn shape was always in motion. Once her vision settled, the Princess realized that the creature was shaped like an upside down pyramid that had been divided into three portions from top to bottom. On either side of its body were two disembodied pink wings, an in the center of the orange mass were two ghostly white eyes.

"Are you… a…"

"Pixl, ma'am!" the fairy finished for Peach. "You bet your bottom dollar I am little lady. Name's Slim, and I've been waitin' fer you folk fer what seems a good one-thousand five-hundred years!"

"So you're a creation of the ancients?" Tippi asked with fascination, sizing up the power of her fellow pixl.

"Same as you, I suppose," Slim agreed. "That's how all 'em us pixls get our start, you know."

Tippi paused. "Er… yeah, something along those lines…"

Peach looked at the spinning pixl in fascination, wondering what sort of power a creature with an odd shape like his could bestow.

Slim noticed Peach's staring, and let out a long, drawled out laugh. "Heh, heh, heh! Take a gander while you can cuz' I gotta fuse with your soul right quick; otherwise, my power ain't goin' to be no use for no one!"

Peach was aghast. "Me?"

"Yer darn right!" Slim shouted. "If y'all don't let me fuse and die, then I'll fizzle away an' die out here anyway, you hear?" he explained. Suddenly, Peach noticed that the pixl's energy seemed to be slowly fading away, as his form seemed to fade and the light he produced began to dim.

"You'll die either way?" Peach asked curiously, thinking back to the inner conversations Nazz seemed to carry on with her pixl.

"I don't have to die when I enter yer body, but if'n I don't let myself fade into your soul, then you'll never get the full extent of my powers, missy," Slim explained.

Sarah's avoidance of Nazz's questions the other night had begun to make sense. Peach decided that something would have to be done about Nazz and her pixl later; she hoped the girl hadn't grown too sentimental to the fairy.

"All right, just give me a moment to put myself into the right frame of mind," Slim said to Peach. "One... Two… Three… Four… Seven… Nine…" Peach frowned in confusion as Slim began to count out of order. "Nineteen… Eight… Twelve… One Marzillion… Seven…"

Then out of nowhere, Slim stopped counting a shot himself at Princess Peach's body. She felt the pixl smash into her gut; the impact felt like the force of a weight to her stomach and she felt herself suddenly short of air. She slumped over the open chest, coughing uncontrollably as she tried to refill her lungs with air. _'Thanks for the warning…'_ Peach thought to herself as she fought the urge to vomit.

"Princess, are you alright?" Tippi asked concernedly.

Peach sputtered a few more times before pushing herself to an upright seated position. "I- I'm fine." She croaked. "Just feeling a bit winded."

"What do you feel?" Tippi asked, interested in what powers the Princess may have acquired.

The Princess stood to her feet, but felt her legs tremble and give out beneath her, sending her to her knees. To add insult to injury, with Slim gone, the room was as dark as it had been before. _'This must be how it feels to be crippled and blind.' _She mused.

"I feel dizzy," Peach decided.

"Can you tell what your power is?" Tippi asked.

"No." she replied curtly, attempting to stand again. "And Slim was too stupid to tell me and I was too stupid to ask." Once she ascertained that she could move on her own steam, the royal woman said, "Let's just go back. I'll figure out my power l-l-laatteeerrr…!"

The Princess shrieked in surprise as she felt he knees buckle. She tried to stop her fall, only to stumble over the open chest. Peach was sure she'd end up head first into one of the walls in this tiny room, so she stuck her arms out, in hopes of at least shielding her head from the impact.

Much to her surprise, Peach felt only an icy sensation as she fell, as though she were passing through a mist or a gas. Once she hit the floor, Peach found herself oddly unharmed, and stranger yet, she was suddenly surrounded by light. Once more, she found herself having to adjust her eyes to the new level of brightness. Once her eyes had focused, Peach noticed three distinct things:

Firstly, she was in a narrow room with a large, metal safe door at the end of it.

Secondly, that turnstile safe was surrounded by layer after layer of pink lasers that crisscrossed each other to form spider web like barriers.

And thirdly, half of Peach's body was stuck behind a wall.


	25. I'm Not Nice

_On the topic of Continuity:_

_I don't know if anyone really cares about this, but this is something that I've wanted to address for awhile. I spoke of this briefly in chapter one, but now I wish to finally address the continuity of both worlds within the context of this story in detail._

_The canon of Ed, Edd n Eddy is almost untouched in this story. All of the episodes, excluding the movie: Big Picture Show, are part of this continuity. So, this story takes place just after the Ed's seventh grade year (season 5/6)._

_Secondly, I've often gone back and forth on the age and grade level of the cul-de-sac kids. I've changed this several times throughout the course of the story, but now I'm firmly stating that all the kids are around thirteen, nix Rolf, who is a year or so older, and Sarah and Jimmy, who are ten. Also, all the kids are going into their eighth grade year, nix Sarah and Jimmy, who are entering their fifth grade year._

_Finally, on the subject of the canon of Mario, I've picked out the games that count towards this story's continuity and the order they occur chronologically in my timeline: Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 2 (Lost Levels), Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario World, Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Super Mario 64, Paper Mario, Super Mario Sunshine, Paper Mario: the Thousand Year Door, New Super Mario Bros, and Super Mario Galaxy. Super Paper Mario is the present, obviously._

_…_

_On a side note, I've gone back and fixed some grammar mistakes and added more detail to chapters one, five, six, and fourteen, and twenty-one. The only "major" addition was really in chapter five, and that was just me adding descriptions and revising some character introductions._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Twenty-Five: I'm Not Nice

**_Her hair was pulled back._**

**_She wore a dark veil…_**

**_And a midnight black dress…_**

**_She wore funeral garb._**

**_…_**

**_I couldn't bring myself to meet her eyes._**

* * *

><p>Mario didn't expect walking through walls would feel like walking through an icy mist, but then again, he also didn't expect to see Princess Peach stick her head out of the wall in front of him like some sort of ghostly apparition. He also didn't expect to that that sheet of paper Nero gave him would be of any use to them, but then again, he also didn't expect Peach to accidentally stumble upon a secret vault room hidden behind a wall in an already secret room. He also didn't expect to stumble upon the mother lode of rubees inside that vault, and yet here he was, carrying stolen five pillowcases full of illegally acquired rubees along with Peach, Tippi, and the kids.<p>

They barged into Ruby's office. It was near two in the morning, and she looked absolutely stunned to see the heroes return at such a late hour. "Doing some late night work are we?" Ruby asked snidely. "You guys must be real super duper go getters!" she exclaimed in an annoyingly peppy, yet sarcastic voice.

Yet Ruby's smug face fell as she saw each person carried with them at least four sacs full of jewels, ready to be deposited. She tried to retain a straight face, convincing herself that there was no way they could pay off their debts any time soon.

But as each person dumped their rubees into the collection bin, Ruby's neutral face began to twist and drop, morphing into a look of shock and horror. It seemed that there was no end in sight as the human dumped bag after bag into the vent. The computer couldn't seem to keep up with the immaculate amounts of jewels that feel through its tally sensors.

Finally, as Sarah poured her last case of gems into the machine and shut the vent, the machine had laboriously begun to configure all the currency it had taken in. For nearly a minute, a quiet whirring and soft beeps were the only noise in the room as both parties waited anxiously for the computer to mark the total number of rubees that had been entered.

Then, the machine let out the telltale ding that signified it had configured the data. Ruby simply stared at the monitor, unsure how to react to the results. "You… you paid it… off…" Ruby muttered. "In… full…" she said, barely audible to the team on the other side of the glass.

"Well, technically we overpaid." Double D corrected her. "After carefully deducing the maximum amount of rubees that could be held by each pillowcase, dividing the volume of each pillow with the volume of a single rubees, and accounting for the money we already paid you, plus the fact that each pillowcase was not filled equally, I've deduced that we've overpaid you by approximately nineteen-thou-"

"NO! YOU'VE BROKEN MY WONDERFUL CURSE!" the tiny green angrily shrieked, catching the heroes by surprise. Without explanation, Ruby began to lift out of her seat, floating in midair like a frightening apparition. The group watched, mesmerized by the green girl's almost demonic transcendence.

Just when the Eds and co thought nothing stranger could come of Ruby's act, the girl exploded with a violent, thunderous bellow. A firey cloud enveloped her, seemingly devouring the girl. When the eruption ended Ruby was gone without a trace, with no charred limbs or ever ash to signify that she had ever been there to begin with.

Amidst the stunned and mortified heroes, Ed was the first to speak. "And we never saw her again…" he said with finality.

"Dude, I wouldn't count on it," Nazz rebuffed. "I don't think there's any getting rid of that chick."

"So are me and Tinkerbell gonna get an apology in writing for being right, or what?" Eddy asked, seeking attention for the fact his suspicions turned out to be correct.

"Not now, Eddy!" Tippi snapped. "I fear for the Pure Heart's safety and that little imp may still come back to haunt us yet."

"Well then what're we waiting for guys?" Nazz asked. "Tippi, where do you feel the Pure Heart at?"

"Below us," Tippi replied. "I think there's a basement in this mansion."

"We could spend all night backtracking through this mansion to find an entrance," Eddy pointed out.

_"__Babe," _Thoreau suddenly called to Nazz. She jumped a little bit, as she still wasn't quite used to the surprise of hearing a voice in her head. _"I feel some sort energy jivin' from that wall. I think Ruby may've set that wall up recently."_

_'__You sure?' _Nazz asked, seeking confirmation.

_"__Sure as sugar, blondie," _Thoreau responded.

"Dudes, Thoreau thinks that wall was put up by Ruby." Nazz chimed, pointing at the wall behind her cubicle. "He says he can feel her magic on that wall. I think we need to go that way."

"Uh… yah! I- uh… M- my pixl can uh… feel that too." Sarah added. "He like, said so and stuff." The red head stated none too elaborately.

Peach let out a sigh. _'She's still trying to keep Nazz in the dark.' _She thought, her melancholy getting the best of her. No matter how many useful tidbits Thoreau kept dropping, Nazz was still at being put at risk without full control of her powers. _'I can't let her spare Nazz's feelings if it means she could be in danger.'_ The Princess shook her head; now was not the time. Right now they all needed to focus on the task at hand. "Everyone get by the wall and lock hands." Peach commanded.

The group made their behind the cubicle and over the brick barrier. They locked hands, like the Princess had ordered them to do. The kids looked at each other wearily; they'd had a brief explanation of the Princess' newfound pixl ability and even got to see her and Mario use it as they stole satchel after satchel of rubees from the safe room, but they'd never actually had her use this power with them in tow.

"You know what you're doing right?" Sarah asked.

"I know enough," Peach replied, before adding, "Probably…" under her breath. Peach wasn't wholly confident yet in her power wielding abilities. Her power first activated out of a burst of fear and adrenaline, but subsequently, it seemed to react out of the necessity to become intangible. Whatever triggered her powers hadn't failed her so far, so taking a deep breath; she began to will her body to become air-like.

Taking a step forward, she felt herself pass through the wall as if it wasn't even there. After the children, Mario, and Tippi had made it through, she let go of their hands and felt herself become solid again.

The heroes found themselves at the top of a long, rickety stairway. The wood used to construct the steps looked splintered and rotten, and the support beams had rusted brown. The air was stale and clouds of dust and flittered into view as they passed in front of the neon lights that scattered the ceiling. There appeared to be water damage on the walls and the floor down below.

"I can feel the pure heart even more strongly here," Tippi told the others. "It's somewhere within this decrepit place."

"Why is it that these stupid things are always in complete dumps?" Eddy groaned. "First we were stuck in a crumbling ruin, and now were in a moldy, old basement. We just can't catch a break!"

"Come now Eddy, this place isn't so bad." Double D replied. "Sure, it's a bit too unkempt and grimy for my taste, but-"

Before Double D could finish is explanation, Ed let out a bloodcurdling "AUGH!" as the floor beneath his feet gave way with an echoing snap; wood splintered and broke away and nails went flying as the dimwitted Ed boy sank through the boards and plummeted to the floor several dozen feet below the platform.

"Ed!" Double D shrieked with concern.

"Case and point," Eddy said, unmoved in the slightest. "A… dump…" He emphasized the last words with a dry scowl.

"Ed, are you well? Ed, speak to me!" Double D bellowed down the pit Ed has made.

"I feel ticklish, Double D!" Ed called back non-sensibly.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "He's fine."

"Come on, we-a need to get-a o' move on." Mario motioned to the stairs. "Watch-a your step," he advised, testing the step before putting his full weight on it. The others followed suit, lightly pressing on each stair before moving forward. Thankfully, no one else in the group had an Ed-related incident and they made it the bottom floor without too much difficulty.

On the bottom floor, the group came upon a set of two doors. At Tippi's suggestion, they took the one on left. To their dismay, the group found themselves within a tight knit maze of interlocking rooms that sprawled the underbelly of the manor. Tippi's Pure Heart tracking skills were of little value down in this web of rooms.

To make matters worse, each room was nearly identical, with concrete floors and brick walls, lined with a menagerie of pipes, water heaters, fuse boxes, and wires that powered the mansion with electricity from the generator room and provided warm running water for its inhabitants.

"Do we even know where we're going?" Eddy moaned after entering the tenth room.

"I'm trying the sense the pure heart, but it's hard to pinpoint with all the backtracking and turns we've taken in these rooms," Tippi explained.

Eddy groaned, callously balancing the tip of a knife on his middle finger as he waddled with the group. "So that's a no…" he said to himself.

"Dude, could you cool it." Nazz retailiated. "You're like, killing what little optimism we have left."

"Whatever…" Eddy grumbled, lost in his own world as he played his game of knife balancing.

"Which-a way?" Mario asked his pixl companion.

Tippi swayed wistfully in the air, staring at the three doors they had not entered in the room. Two were stuck against the wall to their left and one was directly in front of them. The two to the left seemed to be emanating the most energy from the Pure Heart, but she couldn't quite place which one. She hovered over to the two doors, and focused on the one on the left, then the one on the right. She still couldn't quite make out the path, but some gut feeling told her that the right door was the answer.

"This one," the butterfly indicated, pointing her antennae at the furthest most door on the left hand wall.

Mario nodded. "If you're-a certain-"

"I'm not certain of anything right now. Best be on your guard," She looked past Mario and at the rest of the group. "All of you." She emphasized, not that she'd needed to. Everyone had had their weapons gripped and ready since they first stepped into the basement.

Mario twisted the knob, pulled the door aside, and led everyone in after him. The group found themselves in a room that was surprisingly furnished. There were couches strewn aside, a television rested atop a kitchen table, there were dirty pots and pans lined a greasy countertop, complete with a sink, stove, oven, and cabinets just below the flat top.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was a break room," Double D surmised.

Ed grinned giddily and raised his axe.

"No! No, Ed! Stop!" Double D objected, waving his hands at the lesser than intelligent Ed-boy.

Ed frowned, sadly putting his axe back into his signature green jacket.

"But if this is a break room, then where are all the worker dudes?" Nazz asked.

"Don't know, but I got a good feeling Ruby had something to do with it." Peach speculated.

"Whelp, it doesn't concern me," Eddy said, hobbling over to the couch. Plopping himself on one of the old, stain cushions, he began helping himself to a bowl of stale chips resting on a table just to the side of the couch. "I say we take five." Eddy said decisively.

"What on earth- get up for Pete's sake!" the pixl hollered. "We don't have time for this."

"This is a break room, and I'm taking a break," Eddy replied.

Sarah growled furiously and stomped towards Eddy. She stood menacingly in front of the boy, to which he did not react. "Will you get out of my face, twerp. I don't-"

"EDDY! GET YOUR LAZY BUT IN GEAR!" Sarah screamed. "YOU'RE WASTING OUR TIME!"

"WHY DON'T YOU MAKE ME, YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Eddy retaliated, shouting just as loudly.

Sarah relaxed her face and smiled brightly, as though she'd forgotten all about her anger. "Fine, if that's the way you want it…" Sarah chimed happily. Sarah turned to her older brother, her smile once again replaced with an angry grimace. "ED! Move it!" Sarah shouted authoritatively, signaling to Eddy.

"Ha! Nice try," Eddy laughed. "But Ed's my friend, and he listens to me over you any- WOAH! Hey!" Eddy yelped, not expecting to feel his friend's burly arms lift him off the couch. "Ed, what're you do-"

"Make him walk!" Sarah commanded her elder sibling.

"Can do Sarah," Ed replied, putting Eddy back on the ground and tightly gripping his wrist. "Let's go Eddy," Ed said, yanking his puny friend by the arm as he walked back to the rest of the group.

"Let me go lumix!" he shouted as he tried to slip his wrist free, to no avail.

"No can do Eddy," Ed replied simply, not even flinching as Eddy kicked and punched at his legs in a vain attempt to break the invincible boy's iron grip.

For several minutes, Eddy thrashed around in Ed's grip, trying to pull away, before finally giving up as he had broke out a sweat and was deeply panting. Satisfied with her work, Sarah smirked and crossed her arms before saying, "Okay Ed, you can let him go now." Ed finally loosened his grip, and Eddy's wrist slid free. Funnily, Ed's tight squeeze had left a dark red hand shaped print encircling his arm. If he'd had the energy, Eddy would've griped, but he instead chose to save his breath.

"Simple, but effective," Double D reasoned. He turned to Sarah. "Like training an animal not to bark; well done Sarah!" he praised. Sarah covered her face, feeling a soft giggle trying to escape her throat. Double D chuckled in amusement at her embarrassment.

"Yes, effective indeed," Mario hastened, trying to move things along. "Now, I-a say we-a need-a to get o' moving, before-"

"Thank goodness, you arrived. I saw through the stars you would survive." An airy voice spoke, surprising the band of warriors. Sticking her body halfway through the door was a skinny woman, about as taller than everyone in the room but Ed and Peach. Apart from a thick bush of faded orange hair that fell in six curly, loose braids behind her head, she was covered head to toe in various garments, concealing her appearance.

The woman wore a large pair of pointy, red rimmed glasses that concealed her eyes, a large, golden head shawl with an ornamental star, a flowing red dress that draped past her ankles, a white face veil to conceal how lower face, and two shimmering glass earrings with twinkling stones shaped like stars in the centers.

No one was sure how to react to the new arrival. She didn't by any outwards appearances appear to be a threat, but she didn't seem exactly trustworthy by covering up the vast majority of her body and concealing her appearance. To top it off, the Eds and their friends had been nearly assassinated and tricked into slavery nearly twice in a short two day time span and they weren't exactly ready to trust a stranger. Reflexively, the party member all drew their weapons almost simultaneously. The woman let out a soft "Eep!" and hid the rest of her body behind the door.

Not wanting to lose the woman, the Princess assured the woman, "We don't wanna hurt you." There was no response. "We're just on edge, please tell us your name."

"I am a hypnotist, who works for a fee. I am a fortuneteller, can't you see. Be humbled and awed in the presence of me. I am the mighty, mysterious Merlee," the woman called back, and for reasons unknown, speaking in rhyming meter.

_'__Merlee!' _Mario winced in realization. _'The one who-'_ "Do you-a own this o' mansion?" Mario belted before he could collect his thoughts.

Merlee slowly pushed the door open, and like a timid mouse, crept in on her tiptoes as if not to make a sound. "Yes, that is I, seer of things. And I know what my mansion, for you heroes, brings. You seek the Pure Heart, thou whom is most noble in all parts. It was to be you, whom with it would depart. But that minion came, with her force and her fight, and she tried to take it with all her might. So wait I couldn't, for don't you see. I had to take the **Yellow Pure Heart** and flee."

Merlee finished her explanation, allowing the heroes to absorb all the information which she'd just bestowed to them. All the pieces of their most recent journey finally seemed to slip together.

"I see," Double D began, making sense of Merlee's tale and their own experiences. "That little wretch of a handmaiden must've been working for Count Bleck. All her schemes are suddenly making sense now, and I'd bet a month's supply of disinfectant that that green girl was behind all that nonsense with those bounty hunters in the swamp as well."

"Told yah so," Eddy called again, trying to hammer in his point, failing to see how he was beating a dead horse.

"That's rad dude, but how come the chick can't sense you or the Pure Heart?" Nazz asked. "I mean, she found you once, what's stopping her now."

"My magic keeps me hidden, I do say." Merlee replied. "But my powers weaker, I am afraid. For not much longer can I keep her at bay; safe the Pure Heart will not stay."

"Then time is of the essence!" Tippi emphasized. "Merlee! Can you take us to the Pure Heart right now?"

"Of course, of course, how I've kept you at bay!" Merlee cursed herself. "Come heroes, the Pure Heart is just this way."

"No wait, I say! Don't go that way!" hollered an identically shrill voice, just like Merlee. Between the group and Merlee, a ghostly apparition began to take shape. It was pale, distorted, and partially crackled like an old projector, but there was no mistaking who it was in the dim picture.

Now the break room contained both Merlee, and what looked to be a ghostly doppelganger.

"I smell a duck, guys!" Ed stated.

"What is-a this! What's-a going on-a here?" Mario demanded, brandishing his fists accusingly at the physical Merlee.

It was the flickering image of Merlee that replied. "My friends who are dear, listen hear. This cad in my image has swindled your trust. If you want the Pure Heart, listen to my words you must."

"No, no! The real one is me. The fact I'm real should be enough for thee," the Merlee who was physically present swore.

"This is preposterous," Double D shouted in frustration. "Are we really supposed to make an assumption that one of you women is on our side. Who's to say that you're both not some imposter playing up a gaudy disguise? Why should we listen to either of you?"

"I say we stick a knife in both of 'em" Eddy suggested, reeling one of his daggers back over his shoulders.

Meanwhile Ed had walked up to the apparition Merlee and begun to stick his hand in and out of her head. "Cool, she's 3-D guys!" Ed shouted. "Just like at the movies."

"No please, don't you see. The only real Merlee is me," the solid woman pleaded. "That Mimi lass is up to her tricks. She'll tear us to bits if we aren't quick. Follow me through these rooms. I'll see to it that-"

"Hold up a moment here," Double D interrupted her. "Who is this Mimi? We've never heard hide or hair of some named Mimi in our entire stay at this mansion, so pray tell what she would have to do with any of this."

All the eyes in the room narrowed at the corporeal Merlee. She twitched slightly, as though she'd let far too much information slip through. Though it was hard to tell with her thick, obscuring glasses on, she appeared to be avoiding the wandering gaze of the humans and Tippi.

"Look now and watch this sad cad break. This Merlee's a total fake!" the ghostly woman chanted victoriously as her form flickered. She appeared to be trying to communicate more, but her form wouldn't persist. The ghostly woman flickered and buzzed like television static, and then was no more.

Seeing as her cover held no use to her, the fake Merlee laughed. "Hee hee hee! Whelp, no sense in trying to hide now," giggled the fortune teller in an eerily familiar, high pitched voice. The mystic vanished with a ear popping bang followed by a large cloud of thick, dark purple smoke. When the air cleared, the green handmaiden Ruby stood in the same spot as the fake Merlee did only moments before. "You guys are so stupid," the girl chuckled. "You thought I was just some dumb wench, but I was really Count Bleck's loyal minion, the master shape-shifter Mimi."

Ruby, now Mimi, was no longer garbed in a worker's uniform. Her French maid outfit and receptionist work clothes had been traded in for simple yellow dress, decorated with frilly floral patterns. The green girl showed no signs of fear or anger, having had her cover blown. Instead, she appeared just as apathetically stoic as ever, with her plastic smile infused on her face like a porcelain doll.

"I knew it!" Eddy shouted, as though he'd discovered a new piece of information.

"So it's still safe to assume you that trio of killers after us?" Tippi asked rhetorically.

"Wow, you dummies really put your thinking caps on today, huh?" Mimi cooed mockingly, before continuing. "Yep, it was all me. I sent Rin, Hebei, and Kyusu after you guys so that I wouldn't have to get my hands dirty, but they went and screwed things up so I took the liberty of trying to lock you away until this world went _'kerblooey'_!" Her face changed, and she suddenly appeared angry, with eyes bugging out and the corners of his mouth extending into a frown. "But then you meanies had to go and rob me blind and get free! So then I thought I could lure you away as Merlee and kill you really quiet and sneakily, but then the real Merlee had to come here and spoil all my fun!"

"I think she tricked us, Eddy," Ed pointed out.

"We're like twenty pages ahead of you, numbskull," Eddy pointed out. "Read the script for once."

"That's it. This chick is gonna get it for what she put us through," Sarah stated decisively as she reached for a handful of bomb packets.

"Right behind you sister," Nazz agreed, her right hand glowing a brilliant blue hue.

"Heh, you think I'm gonna let you guys win like this?" Mimi asked with a surprised look. Her face then contorted back to its natural frowning state. "You guys are in for it! You're about to find out that unlike the Count, I'm not nice!"

"Sorry sweetie, but this fight is seven to one. There's no way you can win," Nazz scoffed.

"I must commend you on your high intellect, but you just don't stack up in terms of mass or weaponry like your fellow minion O'Chunks did." Double D stated, pointing out some of the offhand observations of the girl he'd been making. "Your shapeshifting powers are noteworthy, but I'm willing to bet that your abilities do not increase your strength or dexterity in battle, otherwise you would've shown us of such fortitudes beforehand. By my calculations, the only logical choice would be to surrender, as in your true form, you hold no power."

The kids all looked at the shape-shifter with smug satisfaction. Indeed, Double D words seemed to ring true. They both outnumbered and seemed to overpower their foe, and their odds looked much better than they had with O'Chunks.

Mario, Peach, and Tippi thought otherwise though. Double D made a lot of excellent points and though they trusted him wholeheartedly, but over the years Mario and Peach had encountered an assortment of enemies who were stronger than they'd seemed, and this green girl could've easily had some sort of hidden ace up her sleeve. The winged pixl also thought there was something amiss. The rainbow butterfly could sense a unique sort of energy emanating from Mimi and she was sure Mimi hadn't played her final card quite yet.

Then, Mimi smiled. Unlike all of her other smiles, this was the first one with a genuine air to it that did not look plastic or forced. In fact, her smiled seemed rather malicious and wicked. It was as though she was finally shedding away another disguise. "I never said this was my true form you dummies." She said. The kids looked at each other, the smug smiles wiped from their faces. The adults felt their suspicions had been confirmed. "You dummies wanna see something ugly? Well… True Mimi, come forth!"

Mimi threw her stick like arms to her sides her body went still and stiff; she reminded the heroes of a cross. The green minion's face was blank and expressionless. She was like an empty husk, a mere statue of the former villain.

Then, Mimi began to twitch, her head slightly jerking to the right, as though she were having a seizure. The group began to slowly back away from the minion, unsure what the minion's next move would be. The green girl's neck began to bend more and more, contorting at an angle and making sickening pops and cracks as it tensed. No one was sure how much more the girl's neck could take before it gave.

"Good lord!" Double D cried out as the bones in Mimi's neck gave way with a sickening crack. Her pupils dilated and her mouth flew open. Peach, Nazz, and Sarah found themselves letting out an uncontrollable scream.

For a few seconds, her head swayed to and fro like a limp piñata. Then, when it seemed that Mimi was irrevocably dead, the skin around her neck began to dissolve and new skin began to sprout like roots from the top of her head. Like tiny hands, the new skin began to reattach to her body and reposition the head on Mimi's still shoulders.

"Dude, that's sick!" Nazz shouted. She felt her stomach drop and she felt a rush of vomit soar up her throat. She covered her mouth in a last ditch effort to keep herself from puking.

Sarah buried her head in Ed's jacket, unable to look at the horrible sight as Ed gazed hypnotically at the scene. "Cool." Ed mumbled, as though he was engrossed in a new comic book.

"That ain't right!" Eddy yelled, pulling his shirt over his eyes. "Make it stop, make it stop!"

Peach seemed to be on the verge of hysterics.

Even Mario and Tippi had to admit, they'd never seen something quite so grotesque or gruesome as Mimi's horrible transformation. Mario felt himself shiver in terror, something he hadn't experienced in a long time. Tippi had to seat herself on Mario's hat, as her own trembling had made it nearly impossible to keep in the air.

Finally, Mimi's head had crawled back into place, the top of her skull resting on top of her shoulders so her head sat upside-down on her body. Suddenly, Mimi's eyes began to melt away, her limbs began to shrink and shrivel up like a beached sea creature, and her hair began to fall out like leaves on a fall tree. Eight slender, black spikes began to bore their way through what was once Mimi's neck. They grew long and tall, extending so far that they could nearly touch the ceiling before they bent in the centers like door hinges and the tips of the blacks appendages extended to the floor. The newly formed legs began to extend upward, pulling what was left of Mimi into the air.

The tiny green girl, fully transformed, was now a twelve foot tall spider with a green head and eight spindly legs. She was blind, her eyes apparently not a part of her true form. Apart from her legs, the hideous spider only had a gaping mouth equipped with glaringly sharp fangs, and a vestigial body from her girl form which was stuck to her spider head by a few folds of dangling skin.

The arachnid let out a sharp yell, "Mimimimimimimimimimimimimimimimi…!" and then scuttled like lightning towards the awestruck heroes.


	26. Doppelganger!

**_Original Post Date: March 20, 2015_**

_As I've not quite so recently informed you all, I've decided to move this story to the crossover section due to threats to report (and potentially remove my story) by anonymous users._

_Something interesting I've noticed is the vast amount of Kevin and Edd pairings people have been writing in the Ed, Edd n Eddy section lately. I've noticed this pairing has skyrocketed in popularity lately, and I'm not quite sure why. It's just such a strange pairing of characters which I don't feel have enough in common to really have anything like a romantic relationship, but I guess everyone else just sees something in it that I don't. My loss I suppose… _

_Sorry for the long wait, again. But don't worry; I've got big things planned ahead!_

_I also just realized, I posted this two days after the third anniversary of this story! Man how time flies... Happy belated 3 year anniversary for any of you who've stuck around this long. I can't believe I didn't post this on the anniversary date! That would've been sick!_

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Twenty-Six: Doppelganger!

**"****Timpani… it was…"**

**"… ****Not your fault."**

**"****What!"**

**"****I don't blame you."**

**…**

**"****No. It was."**

**"****I don't blame you."**

**"****Well you should!"**

**"****Please don't yell."**

**"****WHY DON'T YOU HATE ME FOR THIS?!"**

* * *

><p>Adrenaline coursed through their veins and sweat careened from their foreheads as Sarah and Nazz found themselves flying through another door and into another impending battle. Their friends were nowhere to be seen, having been lost in the chaos of Mimi's first assault in the break room. The last hour had been a whirl of battling and fleeing, all while lost amongst the maze of boiler rooms.<p>

The girl's perilous fighting spree began when they'd first escaped the clutches of the monstrous spider, only to find all of the surrounding rooms that had once been empty to be presently occupied by hoards of koopas, goombas, and small, white apparitions shaped like tiny balls with stubby arms, big expressive eyes, fangs, and horrible gasping and laughing expressions etched onto their faces (known as Boos to Mario and Peach). The rooms had also become infested with hoards of dangerous monsters, such as armored shlurps, swoopers, disembodied eyes which shot focused lasers from their pupils, and strange discus shaped beasts with blood shot eyes colorful exteriors.

Every step of the heroes' journey had been fitted with some new trap or challenge for them to face. Mimi even went to the trouble of setting up reinforcements incase her last ditch attack all but failed. She seemed to have left no loose ends in her dastardly plan. It was all Sarah and Nazz could do to not to think about what might be lying in wait for them next, even if they did manage to escape the hoard of soldiers and dangerous vermin.

Sarah felt herself heave as she struggled to sprint onward, suppressing her urge to cough as her airways constricted. Nazz blinked furiously trying to keep the sweat out of her eyes, but the excessive blinking only brought on reflexive tears, further blind the girl. Their leg muscles ached and they felt their bodies tingle from all the spots they'd been kicked, punched, and bit. _'We must be some whole new shade of purple.' _Nazz thought.

On top of being physically drained, the girls felt a strange unnatural sensation rush through their entire bodies which was much akin to the "pins-and-needles" feeling of a sleeping limb. They found there were brief periods where their minds seemed to shut off, as though they were disconnected from though, feeling, and control of their bodies; only to emerge from their pseudo-consciousness moments later with a strange jolt of pain and shock.

Sarah and Nazz, though baffled nonetheless, tried to ignore these strange feelings and attributed them to exhaustion and focused solely on running and fighting.

The girls stormed into yet another chamber as an army swoopers dove after them. Sarah crushed a yellow packet and threw it at the doorway; mere seconds later, a burst of light a crackling hum lit up the room, and the swoopers dropped to the ground like led weights.

Before she could keep running, Sarah felt a forceful thud collide with the center of her back. She felt her spine jolt forward and fell to the ground, smashing face first into the wet cement. Trying to ignore the geyser of blood which had just erupted from her nose, Sarah pushed herself up and tried to take head count of Nazz.

Nazz was on her knees, held hostage by a koopa who had initiated a death grip on the poor girl's blonde locks. She was further surrounded by a hoard of taunting boos who waved their tongues and glared their fangs sadistically at their captive. "Let go of me, you jerks!" Nazz cried out, only to scream in pain as the bipedal turtle restraining her gave a swift yank to her head, pulling out thick clumps of hair. The minion took a hold of head once more, and jokingly told the boos to "have at her."

"Let her-!" Sarah tried to shout, only to have her voice staunched by terrible cough as her throat seized up. Skipping the heroic formalities, the red head tried to summon more packets, aware that after an hour of combat she was surely almost out explosives (despite having already restocked herself at least three times prior), but her hands only could only produce a momentary spark of light, before her magic faded into nothing.

Suddenly, Sarah was once more overcome with the numbing out of body sensation she'd felt earlier, only this time, she didn't seem to snap out of her trance. She kept a dazed fix on Nazz, but she almost seemed to be unaware that her friend was being smacked and laughed at by a hoard of boos. Sarah was so out of it, she no longer made sense of the brutal situation and felt a strange disconnect from the violence playing out before her.

Then, the little red headed girl collapsed, lost in a state of tertiary consciousness while world around her spun into oblivion.

…

The first thing Sarah felt was a throbbing pain in her head, followed by a nasty cramp that quickly spread from her stomach outward to her arms and legs. She felt someone lift her head off the ground. The person then brought the rim of a metal canteen to her lips. She eagerly guzzled the long awaited source of water, until the mysterious hands pulled the source away. She began groan like an animal, greedy for more.

"No. No more," a soothing voice replied dejectedly. "We don't have a lot, so we're going to save the rest for later."

"P-Peach?" Sarah stuttered, using her elbows to thrust herself in a seated position. "W-what… where am- what happened to Nazz… Is- are we…" Peach brought a finger to Sarah's lips, hushing her.

"We're safe, for the moment anyway," Peach relayed to Sarah. "Nazz and Ed are over there." She added.

Over in a corner of the room, the two preteens were busy sharing a conversation amongst themselves. Sarah noticed the two were sitting by a row of green doors. She quickly realized these were tiny cubicles. On the other side of the room was a long row sinks, fastened below a panoramic mirror.

"Are we in a bathroom?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, but the taps don't work. That's why we're strapped for water at the moment," the Princess explained.

"How did we get here?"

"When Mimi split us up, Ed and I happened to run into you two. You and Nazz were in pretty bad shape, so we got you guys away from those villains and ran to safety. We've been hiding in here for a while now."

Sarah nodded, only to feel a sharp twinge of pain erupt in her forehead again. The redhead cringed and buried her head into her knees, moaning in agony at the horrible throbbing aches that ran through her head.

"You over did it." Princess Peach told Sarah bluntly. "You and Nazz used your powers too much, and it's draining you both. Not just physically; I think these powers are damaging your souls from overuse. Don't use your powers again for now. It's not safe."

The girl frowned, and then gave her bomb canteen a quick shake. It let out a dismal, empty tinkle. "But… I'm almost out of bombs and-"

"I said no!" Peach said firmly, not hearing any of the little redhead's rebuttals. "If Ed and I hadn't run into you two then you might've been killed. We've had too many close calls as it is, and we can't just go around using our powers willy nilly if it means we put ourselves at risk of exposure."

Sarah pouted, crossing her arms across her chest and sticking her bottom lip out. For all of her supposed maturity that she'd gained over the past few days, she was still just as cranky and stubborn as any other ten year old. "Well I wouldn't have used it so much if that stupid pixl just told me I couldn't do that."

The Princess suddenly saw an opportunity to bring up a long awaited topic. "Well, why didn't you just ask your pixl?" the fair woman inquired. "Nazz talks to Thoreau all the time. Is it that you just don't want to?" Sarah's eyes widened and she forcibly sucked a gulp of air. Her heart began to pound anxiously, knowing that she'd said the wrong thing. "Or, is it because you can't?" Peach stated like mother trying to coax the truth from her child.

"Don't tell Nazz!" Sarah pleaded, her voice dropping to a whisper. "She'd be devastated."

"Boomer and Slim had no choice but to leave us, in order for us to gain complete access to our powers," the blonde woman reminded her younger teammate. "If we don't tell her, Nazz may never have full access to her powers and she'll be at greater risk for injury on these missions for the Pure Hearts."

Sarah looked away. The Princess was right, but what was she supposed to say to her friend?

"If you won't tell her, then I will," Peach stated decisively.

"Okay, but not now." Sarah compromised. "Just, not while we're all in danger and stuff…"

The royal figure nodded, agreeing to her partner's concession. As much as she hated putting the news off for even longer, Sarah was right; now wouldn't be the best time to relay such sensitive information to their colleague.

"Hey Princess Pecan; Sarah!" Ed called out to his two female cohorts. Sarah was almost glad for Ed's outburst, as it provided an outlet to turn the conversation elsewhere.

"What is it, my ever so stupid brother," Sarah replied carelessly. However, Ed need not have answered his sister's question. His situation was very apparent, as he had a scrunched up look on his face, his hands were hugging his crotch to his body, and he was bent over while feverishly skipping from foot to foot. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Sarah grimaced.

"But Sarah, I've really gotta go!" Ed whined; his facing turning red and his expression growing more and more labored and painful.

"Just, use the stall Ed." Princess Peach said, flagging Ed to the stalls nearby.

"But, we're in the girls' room guys!" Ed protested.

"USE THE STALL, ED!" the three females shouted in unison, making the fearful Ed scurry into a nearby cubicle.

"And put the seat down when you're done!" Sarah shouted in distaste as Ed closed the door. "You're in the ladies room, so try and keep in the bowl you big ape!"

"Can do, Sarah!" Ed called from the stall.

Once Ed had entered the stall, Nazz stood up and clamored over to where her two companions were sitting. "Dudes, you will not believe the conversation I just had for the past ten minutes with that guy," the blonde girl indicated, pointing the stall occupied by Ed. "Talk about weird, man. So, what've you guys been up to?"

"Not much, so what exactly did you and Ed talk about?" Sarah said quickly, just in case the Princess had changed her mind about telling the truth about the final fate of the pixls.

Though a bit perplexed as to Sarah's sudden interest in her brother's mindless babble, Nazz nonetheless proceeded to recount her prior conversation. "Well, it started with a tuna sandwich believe it or not, and then it went downhill from there."

Nazz didn't get to recount anymore of her story, as Ed suddenly burst from his stall, face his face scarlet and his eyes wild and spinning like a mad animal. "Something in the toilet! It's big and scary and colorful and it looks like it was a people guys!" Ed exclaimed as he rushed behind the three female heroes.

"What the what?" Nazz said, flabbergasted by Ed's statement.

"It's in the toilet, guys…" Ed repeated ominously. "It has come to suck out our bone marrow, and sell on the black market at the most convenient retail price…!"

Suddenly, the three girls came to the realization that Ed was, more likely than not, talking about Mimi, who could've easily hid herself in the large toilet bowl in her girl form, or perhaps she'd contorted her spider form to hide herself in the john. Sensing the impending danger, the Princess and Ed grabbed their modified spear and axe respectively, Sarah unhooked her pyramidal bomb box and kept a firm grip on what few explosives she had left, and Nazz, who had been warned by Peach against using her powers, opted to use a rusty pipe she'd found on the floor as a makeshift weapon of choice.

The quartet heard a soft creek, as the door slowly opened towards the four heroes. They gripped their weapons tighter and beads of tense sweat rolled down all of their necks like glistening pearls. The four humans shook, producing miniature earthquakes that racked their bodies as they struggled to remain as calm as possible. Finally, the door swung open fully, revealing the stall's mysterious inhabitant…

"It is not of this earth!" Ed cried fearfully as he broke out into a mad run towards the newcomer, brandishing his axe like a madman. "I will dice you, horrible scarf lady from the rusty pipe lands!" he yelled threateningly at the figure.

Suddenly, Ed slipped a puddle of soppy water and toilet tissue. He body lurched forward and he found himself on a mad kamikaze slide towards the mysterious person.

"Oh no!" Ed yelled in a panic. "She has locked onto me with her deadly tractor beam stare!" Ed surmised before promptly shutting his eyes, hoping it would stop the woman's _"tractor beam"_.

The woman simply stepped aside as Ed slid by her, crashing into the cubicle and head first into the latrine. "It's swirly in here," Ed laughed as the toilet began flushing itself, causing Ed to spin around and around.

"Safe your breath boy, take no alarm. I'm not the one who will because you harm." Aside from her clothing being sopping wet, Merlee looked almost identical to the ghostly presence of herself that she'd sent to warn the heroes about Mimi. Her colorful veils and dresses clung to her body and sagged like old, wrinkled skin. Her frizzy orange hair had draped across the back her head in a sopping mess of tangles, and her glasses appeared to have become cracked and foggy. Merlee herself stank like old gym socks, not so different from Ed's personal stench.

The old witch stared intently at the group's females. "It's so relieving that you're here at last." She said, stepping towards the three humans. "For so long I-"

"Not another step!" the Princess shouted, brandishing her hybrid spear at old woman. "I mean it. Not one more step towards me or these children."

"What is this threat? I'm no stranger who you've never met," Merlee tried to reason as she took a few steps back.

"We're sick of all this stupid shape shifting!" Sarah shouted back. "If you can't prove you're real, than let us tie you up or something."

Merlee shook her head, trying to explain herself to the heroes. "But my friends, I mean you no harm. I was ambushed with great alarm. That pigtailed girl ran me out of my home. So I've been hiding here alone. I can show you the Pure Heart. Then we can make a new start."

Sarah gritted her teeth with fury. "I'll give you five seconds to prove your dumb story, or else I'll-"

"AHH!" Ed yelled, interrupting his sister's threat. He was shaking with fear inside the cubicle behind Merlee, looking with intense horror at the piece of ceiling just above the magic lady and the small remaining portion of the heroes. After a moment of hesitation, everyone looked up at the source of Ed's terror.

"Mimimimimimimimimimimimi!"

Caught in a wave of disbelief and panic, no one could move. One way or another, Mimi had somehow managed to spirit herself away into the restroom without as much as a sound. Her wispy black legs clung to the corners of the walls and her bulbous, green head looked down blindly at the heroes, baring her wily fangs and swaying her vestigial remnants of her girl form. Letting out a second wild roar, the spider released herself from the ceiling, barreling down at the five paralyzed forms.

Snapping out of her stupor, Sarah let out a squeak hurled a random bomb packet she happened to be clutching at the arachnid. The packet exploded upon contact with the green ghoul, producing a thick veil of black smoke much to the heroes chagrin. Surely a fire or electrical bomb would've sufficed, but now the quintet was left unable to see at the hands of a beast that had no vision in its current form, giving it an obvious advantage.

As the haze clear, the three girls and Ed found to their dismay that Mimi had shifted her form once more in the midst of the sudden cover. Now, standing before the four humans were two Merlees, each an exact clone of the other, from the clothes, to the hair, to the wear and grime about their bodies and clothes.

"Eek! Imposter! Can't you see, this cad simply can't be me!" The magical woman nearest the three girls exclaimed. "Come on heroes, together, attack. We can drive her back!"

"No, no, no! Don't be fooled. The other Merlee is must be schooled!" insisted the fortune teller nearest Ed. "We'll make Mimi pay for this foolish display. For being me, we'll make her pay!"

"Quit telling lies you stupid cad. It's obvious that you've been had!"

"You're one to talk, you ugly aberration. You're nothing but an over baked imitation!"

"Ugly imp!"

"Dumb hag!"

"Freaky limp!"

"You're a drag!"

Then, before the argument could continue, the Merlee nearest Ed hurled herself at her doppelganger and proceeded to violently hit her and pull at her hair. The other Merlee retaliated with a series of knee blows and jabs to the stomach. The two magical figures began to scuffle, tumbling over each other as rolling this way and that over the mucky bathroom floor in an attempt to secure the fact that they were the real one.

"Wh-which one?" Nazz exclaimed. "They're like, the same dude!"

"I think the one nearest Ed was Merlee," Sarah speculated.

"Which one was nearest Ed?" Peach asked, seeking clarification. Whatever sense of differentiation there had been between to two was lost in the ensuing cat fight between the pair of magical of ladies.

"Wait! Thoreau!" Nazz suddenly exclaimed. "Dude, can you like-?"

_"__No." Thoreau responded internally, already aware of what Nazz was going to ask. "They're identical, right down to their magical essence. This is a powerful transformation spell."_

"Ed, your powers!" Nazz tried. "Do they look any different?"

Ed blinked, his pupils turning their signature glowing purple. "Uh… nope…" Ed replied, staring intently at the enemy. "Wait guys, wait!" Ed exclaimed, coming to an epiphany. He narrowed his eyes as if he were trying to read. "This is Mimi... So is this her true form? She'll come after you if you stay too long in any room... And our attacks don't work, so we should keep moving..."

"Ed, we're past that already!" Sarah shouted in frustration.

"I was just reading the tattle, guys," Ed relayed to his friends.

Sarah groaned, "Well, what do we do now?"

"We break them up, keep them both tied up, and find Mario and the others." the Princess rationalized.

"And what if she gets away again?" Nazz asked concernedly. "She's done it like, twice or something now."

"Well, what would we do otherwise?" The blonde woman responded. "Watch this nonsense:" she pointed her staff towards the ongoing scuffle between the two identical clones, "and hope the one who eventually wins this pitiful scrape is the real Merlee?"

"Well we can't just sit here and do nothing," Sarah pointed out. "If she changes back, then we're gonna have a problem. We're not exactly battle ready at the mo-"

"Ed smells it!"

The three female group members faced toward, who stood in a valiant pose, confidently pointing towards the fight between the two seers. "You have not thunk your thought through, wicked she-witch; your magic can fool my eyes, but never fool my nose!" Ed reared his axe over his shoulder. "One smells like my feet, tangy and buttery!" The hefty boy smirked. "But the other smells dirty dish soap. Have at ye' foul maiden of the eight legs!" With a deep cry, Ed let his axe go flying. It spun through the air like a whirling cyclone before colliding violently with the shoulder of the Merlee who sat dominantly atop the other.

The magician screamed. Surprisingly, her voice suddenly dropped several octaves mid-scream in a twisted, monstrous fashion. Her scream was abruptly cut short and she fell to her side, writhing unnaturally like a bug that refused to die after being stepped on by a boot. The Merlee who had been caught under her duplicate quickly dashed away behind the four humans, quivering in fear at the sight.

Just like before, the figure of Merlee began to go through her gut wrenching transformation. Her head refastened itself – scalp to neck – her skin refastened the head in its new position. Her skin turned green, her torso and other appendages began to shrivel up, and several black, spindly legs grew from atop her head. Mimi, aside from a few slightly different vestigial limbs (courtesy of her Merlee form) and a fresh axe jutting out of her head, she was back to her familiar arachnid state.

However, as her spidery form attempted to stand up erect, a leg suddenly disconnected from the main body and fell to the ground with a dull thud. Mimi let out a terrible yell, unlike she had ever done before. This was a yell of true pain and fear.

The long, black, angular leg twitched frenetically to and fro. The axe used to attack the beast sunk into the top of the self-propelled leg.


	27. Value and Friendship

_Surprise, I've decided to give you all a double feature today. I've secretly had the next chapter planned and finished for nearly three months now, but I wanted to save it until we'd progressed up to a certain point in the story, and I have to say, it's my favorite chapter thus far! I'd be surprised if anyone predicted what was to come next…_

_Also, if I have to write one more string of dialogue in rhyme, so help me, I'm gonna-!_

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Twenty-Seven: Value and Friendship

**"****Blumiere, this world if full of many bad people, and I would be lying if I said that your father and many of your people were good. What they did to me, my family, and my people was inexcusable. However, if we were only to look at the weeds in the garden, we would never notice a beautiful rose bud taking shape amongst its brothers. We are all individuals, and to label you as a murderer would make me no better than your father."**

* * *

><p>"Where are we going?" Double D cried, his arm aching from keeping an arrow pulled back in his bow for so long.<p>

"I feel the Pure Heart, it's close!" Tippi exclaimed, leading the humans through the menagerie of basement chambers. "A few rooms beyond, and we'll find it."

"And what if little miss I'M A FREAKING ITSY BITSY SPIDER is there?!" Eddy yelled, frightened of the possibility.

"Then we'll-a win," Mario replied simply with full confidence.

After the attack, Mario and Tippi found themselves separated from the rest of the group. In their ensuing battles, they'd ran into Mimi multiple times, and each time, they'd found themselves having to flee from the resulting fray. They ran into Double D fighting off a legion of eye monsters that had surrounded the poor boy and were shooting lasers at him as he frantically worked to dodge and fire at them simultaneously. Eddy was found after that, hopelessly trying to subdue boo ghosts with his knifes while the boos taunted him by becoming intangible as every incoming knife came their way.

After nearly an hour, Tippi had finally managed lock on to the energy of Pure Heart through all the ensuing chaos, and finally gave the heroes a path to follow through the endless maze of boiler rooms and dank chambers.

The quartet burst through yet another door, finding themselves in a new chamber that appeared to be yet another break room for the workers who may've once served here before Mimi's arrival. At the end of the common room were two restroom doors, one for men and one for women.

"It's in-"

"The women's room…" Double D finished for Tippi. The two humans and pixl were agape at Double D's accurate guess. "Well, where else was it supposed to be? So shall I be the one to kick the door down this time?"

However, Double D didn't get the chance as the door to the restroom was kicked outwards by a sudden force and flung into the break room, slamming near the four heroes against the wall.

"Oh, come on!" Double D screamed.

"Wasn't me." Eddy murmured nonchalantly.

Suddenly, their conversation was cut short by piercing scream from the washroom, followed by an earsplitting crash that reverberated throughout the whole common area and rattle the bones of the humans. "Princess!" Mario cried with sudden distress before bolting into the restroom.

"Come on you two," Tippi motioned, before fluttering off after Mario.

"Peachy," Eddy groaned, very much aware that he was about to get involved in yet another battle, before he took off in Double D's footsteps.

The bathroom was a scene of disaster. Stalls had been broken and overturned, and faucets and toilets had been shattered and blown apart, flooding the entire restroom with dirty water. Peach and Ed were currently tangoing with the green arachnid who had used her legs to fasten herself to the ceiling. Using a couple of broken walls from the stalls, Sarah had constructed a mini-fort which she used to shield herself, Nazz, and Merlee as the two attended to the distressed fortuneteller.

Most striking of all though, was the fact that the room was littered with sharp, red crystals the size of arm which were lodged into the walls and floor. Also, three of Mimi's eight legs had detached from her body and lay in various places across the ground, one of which stilled jerked erratically due to posthumous nerve signals that still courses through it.

"Princess!" Mario cried out once more, amidst the scene of nightmares.

Peach turned to her former protector, shocked at his sudden arrival. "Mario! Look out!" she tried to warn.

The monstrous spider noticed the four new arrivals, and suddenly shot a large crystal out of spinneret opening at the bottom of its body. Mario barely had to dodge the incoming gem as it sped past his head.

"Money!" Eddy shouted greedily, scampering towards the nearest crystal and trying to pull it out of the ground. "Yowch!" Eddy yelped as jerked his hand back, having cut himself against the sharp edges of the shard. "Stupid crystals…" Suddenly, another crystal lodged itself at terrifying speed in the ground next to Eddy, who let out a deafening scream before he hiding in the crude fort constructed by Sarah.

"Hey, there's no room for four in here you selfish jerk! GET LOST!" Sarah yelled.

"Spare me the yelling, pipsqueak. That nutcase can fire death money out her butt." Eddy shivered at the thought. "She's corrupted something so innocent."

"Mario, her legs," Peach stammered as a crystal ricocheted off her umbrella shield, nearly making her loose her footing. "We need to cut off her legs!"

"Mimimimimimimimimimimimimimimi!" the crazed bug shouted, angered at the latest revelation made by the heroes.

"On it!" Mario replied quickly, before springing into action. Using one of his signature wall jumps, the Italian man rocketed himself off the left wall, then the right, before he flipped onto Mimi's scowling green head. The monster hissed; eager to shake the man off of herself. She climbed down onto the floor and began to violently shake herself in an attempt to dislodge Mario from her head. "Go! Do it now!" The man clad in red cried, knowing that best chance to remove the beasts limbs was while she on the floor.

Ed reacted immediately; leaping into the air with his axe reeled back over his shoulders, he brought down his blade onto the base of one of Mimi's long limbs with a decisive chop. The beast let out a horrid scream as her fourth limb disconnected from her body and fell to the floor, twitching uncontrollably.

Seeing an opportunity to attack, the smartest of the trio of Ed-boys joined the offensive. Double D released an arrow, only for it to go flying into the wall behind. Loading another arrow, Double D fired again, this time, the arrow stuck into the leg of the arachnid. Trying again, the egghead archer fired twice more, with the third arrow piercing the leg all the way through and the fourth missing its initial target.

With the fifth leg handing by a few stringy tendons and skeletal bits, Mario jumped from the head of the spider and pulling himself into a cannonball position, used his weight to ground-pound into the barely attached limb. The leg came off due to the sudden influx of weight to its weak point.

Mimi screamed in pain, before moving crawling back onto the ceiling and rooting herself firmly in place. The monstrous girl seemed none too keen on moving, on would probably not come down willingly from her safe spot again.

Once she was firmly in place, Mimi began another barrage, shooting crystals at the heroes who took sheltered in what little wreckage remained of the women's room.

"Now what?" Eddy groaned. "We can't get near her under that heavy fire." Suddenly a thick, pointy shard lodged itself into the fort the sheltered Eddy, Nazz, Sarah, and Merlee. "Yaah!" Eddy yelped, scooting away from the wall of broken stall pieces.

"Why don't you do something about it?" Sarah asked sarcastically.

"I don't see you, helping!" Eddy pointed out.

"Me and Nazz are out of magic," Sarah rebutted crossly. "We can't do anything else."

"Well Nazz has an excuse. She's was working harder than you in the prison. You're just lazy," the boy said spitefully, aiming all his frustration at the Sarah as opposed to the girl he liked.

Sarah's face turned beet red and she looked ready to let out a flurry of rage. Nazz tried to quickly intervene. "Guys, just like, calm down. This isn't helping at all-"

"Hey, what's sockhead doing?" Eddy inquired, who noted that his genius friend had begun constructing something behind his own makeshift lean-to barrier using bits and pieces of broken material that he'd found lying about the restroom. "Hey Double D, this isn't the time to do a stupid experiment."

"Nothing of the sort, Eddy." Double D responded, not looking up from his handiwork. "Eddy, slide me a knife if you will," he asked his friend casually.

"What do you think I am; a knife bank?" Eddy said, reaching begrudgingly for a blade in his satchel. "_Knife this! Knife that!_ You're milking me dry here, sockhead." Eddy groaned as he place his blade on the wet floor and slid it over to Double D who took hold of the tool and continued on his work.

"What do you mean, 'milking you dry', dude? This is like the first time he's asked you." Nazz asked.

"Just a little tweak here and smidge tighter here…" he mumbled to himself, reshaping pieces of his new tool with Eddy's dagger. With some final scores made against the wooden portion of his device, Double D put the finishing touches on his makeshift gadget. "It's about time I put my intellect and knack with formulating innovative machinery good use on our little endeavor." The intelligent boy snapped one last component in place and proclaimed, "The Ed-Sling Five-Thousand is ready for a test drive, fellows."

Holding his new invention out for display, the three heroes and seer trapped behind their shelter got an eyeful of sockhead's latest creation. The inventor had created a strange sort of crossbow or slingshot like weapon, but the device had two individual barrels which pulled back and fired separate pieces of ammo. Loaded on either side of the crossbow like weapon were what appeared to be large pieces of round concrete. The two pieces of ammo were connected by a stringy fiber of woven electrical cords and sock fabric in order to make a crude sling.

"Test drive… Double D! Of all the times to go psycho-inventor on us, you choose the time when its life or death?!" Eddy screamed.

Suddenly, Eddy began to notice something familiar about the tool that his brilliant friend had concocted.

"And you destroyed your weapon! Are you nuts?" Eddy shouted, freaking out at the sudden realization of what his friend had done.

"Eddy, you need to trust me. I wouldn't sacrifice such an invaluable tool if I didn't have good reason to do so," Double D replied, trying to rationalize his rather controversial decisions.

Moving himself out from behind his shelter, the Ed-boy aimed his Ed-Sling Five-Thousand at the rampaging spider. With a tiny scope made out of bits of glass from the broke light fixtures, he zeroed in the on the knuckles of the monsters legs. He angled his crossbow, hoping that the fibers he fastened between the pieces of concrete were long enough to snag all of Mimi's legs.

_'__I suppose it's up to fate and quantum physics,' _Double D thought decidedly. With nothing left to do but hope his plans panned out, the egg headed luminary pulled the trigger and let his weapon go soaring.

The sling twirled through the air, the rocks spinning around each other like a whirlwind, stretching the cord farther and farther apart. One of the concrete pieces snagged one of Mimi's remaining legs, causing the cord to extend and whip around her remaining legs. Once the second slab had circumnavigated her legs, it snapped back violently, collapsing the cord inwards and pulling the spider's legs together in one quick jerking motion.

Mimi fell to the ground; the sling had wrapped around her legs several successive times, pinning them together and stopping her from moving. In a dazed panic, Mimi began to fire more deadly red shards from her spinneret. Much to the surprise of the heroes, she also began to form and shoot red crystals out of her mouth and through various other pores in her body.

Double D looked towards Ed, who had taken refuge beneath a broke faucet. "Ed! You have to disable her remaining legs, before she gets free!"

"I am Lothar; and um… something else!" Ed cried, brandishing his axe overhead before taking off at a sprint towards the paralyzed arachnid.

Mimi tried to squirm away and fire more shards at Ed, but her feeble attacks were no match for the Ed-boy's speedy charge. The large, smelly wall of meat jumped and avoided everything the spider spot and him and within ten seconds, he was standing side by side with the villainous henchman of Count Bleck.

Ed stared menacingly at the helpless evildoer, his face contorted into a hard scow, his unibrow accentuating his already apparent anger. Suddenly, like a comic book hero, Ed let out a mighty roar, defiantly letting Mimi know his intentions. "Tell you master that I will end his end of days right after I end you, foul spider girl!" With one swift blow, Ed took all three of Mimi's remaining legs.

"Mimimimimimimimimimimimimimi!"

With her legs all severed, the spider minion flopped to and fro, helpless and weak without any means to support herself. The once formidable monster was now nothing more than a pitiful green head, about the size of Sarah, with no defining features except a screaming mouth and shrunken vestigial body parts that hung from her head, dried up and flaccid. Mimi has become truly blind and helpless.

Suddenly, just as he heroes had begun to emerge from their shields they'd used during Mimi's barrage, a hazy black cloud enveloped the villain with a sudden poof. The cloud faded away and revealed that Mimi has transformed back into her girl form. Sweat beaded from her green face and her curly pigtails had become tattered and matted. Her clothes were torn and mottled, and her cheeks had turned a shade of pink from fatigue.

"How…?" Mimi asked as she huffed in air. "You figured it out… you won… I don't understand."

"Sometimes our greatest strengths are nothing more than a cover-up for our greatest weaknesses," Tippi explained. "You were dangerous, intimidating, and powerful, but beneath your power and appearance, you were trying to mask how fragile and easily damaged you were; and I don't just mean your spider shape. This whole trap and ruse you set up for us; you knew you couldn't beat us head on, even in your true form."

Mimi growled, her face contorting into a deep frown.

"We're going to stop Count Bleck," Tippi continued. "Because we don't try and hide our faults to make ourselves stronger. We acknowledge each others' strengths and foster them amongst ourselves. We also acknowledge each others' weaknesses and trying to improve them and cover each other in areas where we may fall flat. We are a team; a team that cares for each other and that will grow stronger as we cultivate our collective experiences together. That is something that you, your Count, and his other horrible minions just don't understand."

Mimi growled, her face turning even redder, tears had begun to stroll down her face. "But you're wrong…!" The heroes blinked in surprise at the girl and her sudden outpouring of emotion. "You're wrong!" She shouted, her eyes letting loose a stream of tears. "Count Bleck saw something in me! He saw something in me, and O'Chunks, and Dimentio, and Nastasia that he never saw in any of you! He knows our true potential, and he's going to make us stronger because he believes we can help his plan succeed! That's why I'm with him, because he believed in me! IN US!"

Double D immediately likened her dogma to that of religious fervor. _'Such intense faith; it wouldn't be a stretch to compare her belief to that of a Nazi or some other idealistic cultist,'_ he mused to himself.

"I'm going to make his dreams come true! You'll see!" Mimi shouted as she suddenly began to levitate in the air. "You'll all see, and then you'll be sorry! You dummies will be sorry!" The henchwoman began to spin in mid-air, twirling like a spinning top before she dissipated into the air, gone without a trace.

There was a brief moment of silence shared amongst the nine figures gathered in the room. They felt a rush of relief that their enemy had finally departed, seemingly for good. But something about Mimi's final soliloquy hung in the air, leaving an unsettling feeling amongst the heroes. As they contemplated the events which had just transpired, one voice pieced the air and finally snapped the rest out of their thoughts.

"My heroes, you've saved my life. You've beaten that shape shifter with such fortitude and strife." Merlee stated thankfully as she crawled out from behind the rubble of the bathroom. The seven humans and their pixl companion gathered around the seer; relieved that the whole mess with Mimi had been straightened out. "I'm so thankful for all you've done. Because of your courage, the righteous have won."

"It's not o' problem, M'lady," Mario answered courteously. "We're just-a fighting for-a the right to life for all-a of o' the worlds and the innocents that-a live there."

"You truly are the heroes of the ages, prophesized millennia ago by the sages." Merlee complemented.

"I think she's doing the rhyme stuff just to bug us," Eddy whispered into Nazz's ear, to which she responded with a light but point-driving slug to the smallest Ed's elbow.

"Millennia ago when the Ancients saw the future so dark, they created a large stone of magic called the Pure Heart. They split it into eight fractions, and hid them across multi-verse of separate world and factions. The Pure Hearts were then left there to stay, for the heroes who would save the worlds one day." Merlee paused thoughtfully, and then explained, "I am a descendent of the Ancients. To protect the Pure Heart- I am sanctioned. This mansion was built by the Ancients of yold, and to this day I reside even as I grow old."

"Well you don't have to wait or worry anymore. We're going to set things right," Tippi promised.

"I see that I have fulfilled my part. So dear heroes, I present you the **Yellow Pure Heart**." The sorcerer reached into the many layers of robes and clothes and pulled out of her many tiers of garments a shimmering yellow stone, gleaming like the sun and shaped like a rounded heart.

Mario took the object and held it admiringly; the rest of the group doing much the same.

"We won't let-a this go-a to waste, we o' promise," Mario said confidently.

"I wish there was more I could for you. Oh! Perhaps a warm bed or two?" Merlee suggested. "A large feast for my newfound friends. We could roast treats on a fire and make amends. Of course, we could also have some tea, or maybe play a few games and watch TV. And the next morning before you depart, I could provide you with clothes, weapons, and food for your early start."

Mario and Tippi looked at each other uncertainly, not sure they wanted to spend any more time in this mansion than they already had. Plus, they had to get Pure Heart back to Merlon. They couldn't afford to waste a second unnecessary night in this dimension. "Uh… well we're a bit clenched for time," Tippi began. "Besides, we don't want to intrude-"

"Did she say warm beds?" Nazz asked suddenly.

"Tea?" the Princess exclaimed.

"TV!" Eddy cried joyously.

"Feast for Ed!" Ed shouted excitedly.

"Can we roast marshmallows?!" Sarah asked jubilantly.

"Can I inquire about the fresh clothes tonight?" Double D asked, examining his tattered and sodden attire.


	28. A Side Story

Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts  
><span>Twenty-Eight: A Side-Story<span>

**One Week Prior…**

…

Just behind the woods of the cul-de-sac and across from the dump was a dingy jungle of tiny metals boxes that were somehow meant to house entire families. The mobile homes were coated in layer after layer of grime and dirt, as well as surrounded by miniature garbage heaps, dirty laundry, and household amenities like washing machines and disused furniture.

"Tch… filth!" a lone man in a tightly pressed uniform scoffed.

The delivery man grimaced as he stepped over trash and scrap metal, and ducked beneath the clothes line littered with dripping towels and sodden undergarments. He hated delivering packages through seedy looking neighborhoods like this. Frankly, he wondered how anyone who lived in an old, rundown trailer park could afford an expensive package from NEXUS Q Gaming Corp, but that was above his concern.

Tossing the package against the stairs of the address, he briskly knocked twice against the door before proceeding in a pseudo-sprint back to his delivery van. He started up the ignition and sped off down the road, eager to be rid of the trailer park and its inhabitants.

The postman let out a sigh of relief as the last image of the low-income neighborhood vanished beneath the horizon line his visor mirror. He chuckled to himself, as he sped around the corner and back into suburbia.

Strangely, he felt a weird tingle down his spine. He couldn't place this weird anxiety that he had begun to feel as he drove back to Lemon Brook. Strangely, an hour into his commute home, the sky seemed to be turning prematurely dark.

…

Watching an old black and white television were three sisters, but one could hardly tell they were related by looking at them. The Kanker sisters all had separate biological fathers, but the same mother. The result of three rushed and ill-fated marriages, Lee, Marie, and May lived with their mother who took to working several jobs to care for her three children.

Lee, the oldest, was around fourteen. She had pale skin with freckles and a thick bundle of curly red hair that rested on top of her head like a mop, obscuring her eyes. She was rather tall, standing over many boys her own age, and was stronger than many of them as well. She had a burly, dominating attitude and crude demeanor, making her the absolute, uncontested alpha male over her two younger sisters. She liked to start fist fights, and often asserted her dominance over her sisters and anyone who crossed her in this manner. However, contradictory to her personality, Lee liked to wear red nail polish, patterned blouses, skinny jeans, and other clothes often seen as girlish or feminine.

Marie was ten months younger than Lee. She had short, straight blue hair that clumped awkwardly against her head and draped over her right eye, and pale skin. She was short in stature, around the size of a grade school student at just over five feet, but nearly as strong as her older sister. Unlike her sister, Marie was partial to more punkish clothing, including tank tops and short-shorts, often in the colors of black, green, and camo. She was the most rambunctious of the three, being snarky, rebellious, and sarcastic, often being the first to anger. Marie was also impulsive and picky, only settling for what she considered the best of the best. The only person who could remotely keep her in line was Lee.

May was the youngest, eleven months younger than Marie and twenty-one months younger than Lee. She had long, stringy blonde hair, a pair of sizable buck teeth, and pasty skin. She stood at about average height for a girl of twelve, and her strength, while admirable, was not on par with that of her older siblings. She was the most submissive and complacent of her sisters, often being the brunt of their jokes and forced to act as the pack mule of the group. However, May was also the most independent and passionate, striving for her own unique identity. May was also not as intelligent as her sisters, and was prone to acting on her emotions as opposed to her common sense. Her garb was loose and comfortable, as she often wore baseball caps, slacks, and loose t-shirts.

The three girls, despite their differences, all had one thing in common; their love of a certain three Ed-boys. Lee, the eldest, had a crush on Eddy, while Marie projected her affection onto Double D, and May found herself to be head over heels for Ed. The sisters would fantasize constantly about Ed, Edd, and Eddy, but their lustful affections didn't stop at mere dreaming. As the symbol of their affections, the Kankers often took it into their own hands to personally show the Eds a good time, whether or not the boys gave their returned their affection in kind, _which they never did!_ The constant rejection, fear, and disgust the three boys had for the Kankers and their direct approach to romance only seemed to fuel the sisters' fiery passion for the three boys.

Little did these three sisters know, their fates would change forever as two muffled thumps quickly echoed off their front door.

May reacted first, turning about on their couch so she could face the front door to their trailer. "Hey guys, I think I heard a knock at the door," she said, her voice lisping slightly due to her sizeable overbite.

"Um… duh!" Marie retorted. "We could all hear it. Now go answer it!"

"Why do I have to get it? You two have been sitting here all day." May pointed out.

"And that's how we're gonna stay," Lee stated boisterously in a thick New York accent. "Now go get the door May."

"Yah, _'go get the door May,'_" Marie added in a mocking tone.

Suddenly, Marie felt a sharp slap to the back of her head. "Did I say you could talk?" the red head asked Marie, while motioning her youngest sister away to answer the knocking.

"You guys are so immature. That's why mom calls me the smart one," May grumbled to herself as she pulled the door open. A lone box laid on the porch step of the trailer. May picked it up and briefly examined the address. "Hey guys, I think our package is here! It's got that fancy game logo on it and-"

Before she could finish speaking, the blonde sibling was tackled to the ground by her sister Marie, who wanted the package all to herself. "Give it here!" Marie cried, pushing May's head into the floor as she struggle to grasp the box.

"No way! I got it first," May retorted, holding the box just out of Marie's reach.

"You're just gonna break it cause you're a klutz!" Marie screamed back as her fingers grazed the box.

"You twos are both wrong! It's mine." Lee interrupted as she snatched the package from both her siblings. "I asked mom for it, so I get to open. Any objections?!" She balled up one fist for her sisters, eyeing them both from behind her curtain of curly red hair. Both girls mumbled bitterly amongst themselves, but neither challenged the eldest girl's authority. "That's what I thought." Lee said smugly as she began to tear the packing tape off the box.

After pulling the box out of its wrappings and dumping all the pieces onto the floor, Lee began to scrounge through the miscellaneous pieces until she found a torn instruction manual lying amongst the litter of metal and plastic parts.

"Let's see 'ere," Lee muttered, flipping the booklet open. "Okay, I see what it is we gotta do." She looked towards her younger siblings. "Alright, yous two start putting together that game system, while I put together this- eh…" she quickly scanned the booklet one more time. "Immersion… box…" she sounded out.

"What's an immersion box for?" May asked.

"We stand in it, duh!" Lee retorted, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It's a box covered in panels made with…" She consulted the booklet once more, "…lead, steel, titanium, polyethylene, and other radiation-proof materials, and we stand in it with special glasses while the game thingy is on, and then it's like were in virtual reality."

"What's virtual reality?" May followed.

Marie promptly smacked her buck-toothed sister upside the head. "Its real life, but its virtual you moron! Think a little before you try and talk."

"Enough squakin'!" Lee ordered her sibling. "Get to work on that game station. I want it done before mom gets back from her jobs."

…

"Ugh! Finally!" Marie groaned. "That took like over an hour. I'm beat." Upon pronouncing her tiredness, Marie resigned herself to the couch.

Meanwhile May, hoping to get some fresh air, went to open the window only to notice that the sky had turned dark and a light rumbling permeated her ears. "Hey guys, I think a storms coming." The blonde sister addressed, pointing outside.

"So what?" Lee said as she tightened the last screw on the clunky, black box. "The storms out there and we're in here, so what's the problem?" she asked, chucking the screwdriver carelessly over her shoulder as she finished fastening the box together.

May couldn't help but stare worriedly outside the house. "It sure doesn't look like a normal storm," she muttered under her breath, unsure what to make of the monstrous, purple clouds spread out across the sky.

Going back over to her sisters, she asked, "So, who gets to try it first?"

"We're all trying it," Lee responded. "This game's s'posed to be multiplayer." She explained.

"Can I be player one?" May yipped with excitement.

Marie shoved her aside. "Dream on! I'm older than you, so I get to use it first."

"I'm the oldest, and I say I'm player one." Lee decided. "Marie can be player two, and May can be player three and that's the way you're gonna like it, or else!"

The two younger siblings were beside themselves, but they groaned resignedly in response, before replying with:

"Fine."

"Whatever."

"Okay, so let's see if we can't set this thing up," the red-headed sister muttered, scanning the leaflet. "Step one, we turn on the console." She flipped a switch on the console, but the TV remained black.

"What's happening Lee?" Marie badgered.

"Hold on, hold on!" Lee said, looking at the instructions. "Okay, next we gotta put on the glasses, and then, we lock ourselves in the immersion glasses."

The three girls each grabbed a pair of specially tinted redish-orange shades, said to enhance their visual experience, and put them over their eyes. "Ha! May looks like a nerd."

"No, you look like a nerd Marie," May cried in defense.

"You both look like nerds, now shut up!" Lee silenced her two sisters. "Now we gotta step into the immersion box."

The three girls each climbed into the cramped space, contorting themselves this way and that in a vain attempt to try and earn more space in their cramped enclosure. One the three sisters had piled themselves in, Lee slammed the door to the immersion box shut and locked it. The three sisters didn't even notice that they'd failed to buy a game to use with their immersion system. It would never have worked, regardless of whether or not it was on.

The siblings couldn't see anything inside the box. There was no alternate source of light (at least, none that been turned on or working,) and they were left awkward touching each other inside the confined, pitch black enclosure.

"Final step girls," Lee announced to her cramped sisters. "We just find this large blue button and push it three times, then our game starts itself."

"But we can't see anything, Lee," Marie moaned.

"So get feelin'," Lee responded. The three girls began groping the walls of the box, trying to feel for a structure that jutted out of the wall. After a few minutes of running their hands along the walls, Lee felt her hands graze what appeared to be a large, plastic, circular device that protruded against the walls.

"Found it!" Lee said. "So, now we just-" The curly haired girl pushed the button three times, each click echoing through the cramped space. As the third click rang out, the box seemed to begin shaking rather violently.

"What's happening?" Marie cried. It felt as if the box was crashing of the walls of the trailer, and then spinning into oblivion. The girls began tumble into each other inside their limited space; their bodies began to ache from the violent thuds and painful contact against the sides of the tight enclosure.

"The game's turning on. Brace yourselves, girls!" Lee cried as thunderous booming overtook the box.

…

The girls blinked, unsure what exactly had happened to them. The three girls appeared to be in a caged environment. Outside the cage was a crumbing basement surrounded by a white sky that was decorated with strange mosaic tessellations that were somewhat mesmerizing to stare at. Apart from the floor of crumbling basement, there appeared to be no ground. The only object inside the cage was a lone sign carved in writing that looked like a mix of Chinese and gibberish and a large cobalt pipe, big enough for a person to fit in.

"What is this place?" May asked.

"Are we in the game?" Marie asked.

"Of course we're in the game, numbskulls! I turned it one, didn't I?" Lee pointed out as if it were obvious.

"Well it feels like, scary real." Marie said, tugging against the bars that caged them in.

"Yeah, and I can't feel the walls of the box anymore," May said, waving her hands around through the air.

"Don't you guys understand a lick about technology?" Lee groaned. "We're in the videogame now. It's s'posed to feel like it's real! Why do you think it came with the immersion box?"

"Oh, I think I get it now!" May said euphorically.

"What's there not to get, you idiot?" Marie said trying to make it sound as if she knew what Lee was talking about the whole time.

"But I just don't get what happened to our glasses…" May said curiously, touching her face to verify that her orange glasses were indeed gone.

"It's virtual!" Lee cried out again. "Now no more questions. We're starting this game."

"But where the heck are we supposed to go?" the middle sister grumbled, wrought with irritation. "The stupid game boxed us in!" She shook the bars in frustration, trying to get herself free.

"We take the pipe, so follow me girls." Lee ordered, hopping into the black pipe with a moment's hesitation.

"Whatever," Marie replied, following suit.

May hesitantly gave the sign a passing glance, before following her sisters down the pipe as well. Little did they know, the sign by the pipe was a warning that when translated from the text of the Ancients into English stated:

**Pit of 100 Trials!**

**All ye who enter willst face thy certain death!  
>Refrain from proceeding.<strong>


	29. Metamorphosis

_Hope you all enjoyed that little appearance from the Kanker sisters. I never originally planned to include them in the story, but their role came about through a sort of mental block, where I wasn't sure how to advance the story._

_Naming chapters really seems to be out of style. I like chapters having names; I feel it's like a little teaser of what's to come ahead, or perhaps a little blurb that can hint towards an author's own personal own interpretation of his chapter to come. I also think it helps give each chapter its own identity, independent of the story itself. Lately, I've seen very few stories on this site doing it all. In fact, many books have turned away from it as well. I for one support naming chapters!_

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Twenty-Nine: Metamorphosis

**I've begun to question my purpose in this tribe. Who am I? What am I to them… and Timpani…?**

**And what is Timpani to me?**

* * *

><p>Nastasia watched the scene unfold with a sort of glaring indifference. One goomba had been assimilated quickly and forcefully while the other goomba had cooperated willingly without the need of her hypnosis. The third and final insubordinate, a male human with a tall, skinny disposition, clad in green with a large cap and thick mustache, had been restrained by a small battalion of hypnotized minions, squirming helplessly beneath their clutches as he cried out pitifully for his friends.<p>

As the bespectacled secretary prepared to indoctrinate the belligerent man under the authority of the Count, the green man, in a burst of adrenaline and fear, broke through the mass of koopas, goombas, and other creatures and broke into a mad sprint as he fled the siege of villains.

Nastasia made no attempt to stop him, letting him run aimlessly past her as he sped down the castle hall back to door where he'd come from. Her minions prepared to give chase, but she held her hand up, stopping them before that could act. "Yah, that won't be necessary." She told the battalion in a frank manner.

Before the poor man could make it back to the door, a small dainty figure lurched from the shadows and stopped the man in his tracks with a quick chop to the neck. "Mamma mia…" the green clad man groaned before he collapsed.

"Excellent." Nastasia said as she walked over to the shadowy figure and the downed noncompliant human. "So uh, he's still alive right? Cause if not, you're gonna be in deep trouble, 'kay." The short figure was silent, but the secretary needed no reply, as the man let out a soft groan of pain in his unconscious state. "Good." Nastasia answered plainly. The shadowy minion still did not respond. "You're doing well. A few more sessions and I think you'll be ready. Strange, you were so resistant until just a few days ago. Wonder what changed." Nastasia shook her head. "Ah well, it doesn't matter. You've done your job well, Kid J."

"I- I'm… I- Kid… J." the minion said in a soft, scared voice that contrasted greatly with his dark, shifty appearance.

Nastasia shifted her glassed and peered at the man on the floor. "Now for you."

…

As he mused over the contents of the Dark Prognosticus, the Count heard a faint whoosh from behind him. Closing his book and turning around, he found his short statured blue secretary standing before him, ready to give him his report. "What is it, Nastasia?" Count Bleck asked with mild interest.

"We've apprehended the final belligerent within the Castle, 'kay." Nastasia reported. "Also, um, those two humans will be ready soon. The kid will be ready in a couple of days and I think the green one will be fully indoctrinated by that time too."

"Excellent work Nastasia," replied the Count with strong appraisal. "And of Mimi?" he continued.

"Um… yeah… Mimi left me a pm awhile ago. It said, _'I messed up bad!'" _the secretary told her master.

"And her whereabouts?"

"Oh, she's somewhere in the castle. So yeah, I'll get on straightening her out later."

"Blehehehehe!" Bleck chortled. "So even Mimi failed to best these pitiful heroes; my powers I granted her were not enough. The strength of these four Light Prognosticus heroes had been unprecedented…" he mused.

"COUN'!" a thick Irish accent bellowed. The beefy O'Chunk clad in his newly repaired of red armor and neatly groomed beard suddenly barged into the room, interrupting his master and his master's assistant. "I 'eard 'bout Mimi! C'mon Coun'! Gimme one mer chance. 'Ey promise dis time I'll spank those naughtly little cherbils into oblivion; I swear it on me chin whiskers!"

"Oh, so does that mean that you've finished your report on your own inadequacy," Nastasia inquired. The bulky minion froze up, his face turning a deeper shade of red than it already was. "Because I do recall assigning you one-thousand pages to complete."

"'Ey, 'ave a heart, lass!" O'Chunks begged. "I'm almost done, I'm jus' on deh last couple o' exposition pages I is. One-thousan' be a lot to hand write, it is!"

Count Bleck motioned for the bulky minion to be silent. "Calm yourself, O'Chunks. Finish your assignments and train. I have other means of dealing with these meddlesome fools." He tapped his scepter against the platform, getting Nastasia's attention. "Fetch Dimentio if you will."

"Uh… yeah. I'll get-"

Suddenly, the air rippled like a disturbed pool of water and as the air stilled, a floating clown appeared. "Ahaha! I arrive like a sudden windstorm to ruin the day of picnicking kindergartners!" Dimentio chortled.

"Dimentio…" Count Bleck muttered, the jester's arrival a bit too coincidental for his liking. "Not eavesdropping, I hope," Bleck asked suspiciously.

"Why would I dare intrude, that would disrespectful master," Dimentio answered without flinching, dragging the word 'master' with his tongue, almost with scorn. Count Bleck searched to clown's face for disdain, but as usual he found nothing but that untrustworthy smile. This particular minion was starting to bother him, but just couldn't explain why.

"Dimentio, um… it's not polite to interrupt without, ya-know- explaining yourself, 'kay." Nastasia reminded the subordinate crony.

"My apologies; I am but a fool, ha!" Dimentio sneered at his own pun. "My intrusive arrival was an unfortunate happenstance. I'm itching for a battle, you see. And since you've sent your other two lackeys to stop our foes with… trivial success…" Dimentio emphasized the last two words, giving O'Chunks a restrained glance. "I figured it would only be fair if I were dispatched to meet with these so called heroes who dare to oppose us."

Count Bleck nodded. "Fair enough, I'm sending you to the Bitlands. Don't fail me Dimentio."

"Of course! I'll be gone in a jiffy," Dimentio promised. "Ciao!" he said quickly before teleporting out of the room again.

"You two may see yourselves out," the Count said, waving away the other two subordinates still in the throne room. O'Chunks crept out, leaving through the double doors at the end of the room while Nastasia teleported out of the room.

The room was silent and empty. Without his minions of anyone else around, the room was totally devoid of color. There wasn't even a window to let in the faint purple glow of void. The throne room was without light, but one could still see where the walls, floor, and ceiling were connected, or where the platforms were formed by thin white lines that separated the shadows and gave them form. Count Bleck was alone in a black, shadowy hell.

_'__Heh, just like my heart,' _he thought melancholically to himself.

By his lonesome, Count Bleck readjusted his top hat and frowned. The blue man opened his cloak and removed a large black book from inside it. He studied the Dark Prognosticus, admiring the jewel sealed on the front cover and the intricate glyphs etched on the edges of cover. He caressed the spine slightly, sensing the dark aura bound to it between its pages. He wanted that aura to consume him. Leafing through the closed books pages and flipping the text open at no particular place; the Count sat on the edge of his floating platform and began to reread the book's evil secrets, letting the pain and despair fester in his heart.

…

He was alone in his cell. Kid J no longer had any need to be restrained. He was sane enough to keep from rampaging or hurting himself. When he wasn't eating, training, or relieving himself, Kid J simply stared at the corner of his cell, lost in his thoughts, trying to understand who and what he was and what all these subconscious thoughts lost behind a wall of reprogramming from Nastasia meant.

Suddenly, Kid J heard a soft whir behind him. Knowing what it meant, he instinctively curled into a ball and began to bite at his hands. It wasn't Nastasia… she always made her presence known, and he no longer feared her sessions. But Kid J knew this wasn't Nastasia; this was a monster that lived in the shadows of his cell. Only he could see the monster, or so he assumed, because no one else ever noticed him, even when the monster was there when other people were in his room. Kid J didn't like sessions with the monster.

"Closing you eyes won't make me go away," the monster chortled.

Kid J didn't turn around. He didn't like looking at the monster. It had no face; only demented eyes and a twisted mouth that always smiled, except for that one time when Kid J struck the monster. That was only time the monster frowned. Kid J never struck the monster again.

"So, how was your session with Nastasia today? I heard she gave you a mini-mission. And you talked, did you? I'm so proud of my little project." The monster continued to rabble on and on while Kid J shook with fright in his corner, never looking up from his corner.

"You know, you're turning out better than I expected," the monster mused. Suddenly, a pulsing noise filled the room, accompanied by a soft blue light. Kid J trembled. The session was about to begin.

"Aw… you're shaking. Don't worry. You won't remember any of this once I'm done with you." Kid J dared himself to peek. A gloved hand surrounded by a stream of blue energy was right in front of his face. "But for now, we'll reenter my madness."

…

Eddy ducked, then blocked, then jumped back, and then he got socked. He instinctively brought his hands to his face, only to feel himself get knocked off his feet with a swift trip.

"Don't-a stop now!" Mario coaxed the short statured child.

Eddy snarled and pulled himself onto his feet. He cracked his knuckles as a show of dominance, though the portly Italian was put off in the slightest by the boy's meager show of attitude. This time, Eddy put himself on the offensive. He ran straight for the Mushroom Kingdom native and swung for the man's face. Mario simply pulled himself backwards as the boy tried to swing for his face.

Eddy tried jab at the man's gut, but Mario stopped his fist with an open palm. Grabbing tightly to Eddy's fist, Mario stood on his tiptoes and began to spin in a compact rotation like a dancer or a skater. The force of the spin brought the kid's entire body into the air, making him essentially weightless. After gaining some momentum from the spin, the Italian simply released his grip on the child and sending him careening outwards.

The tiny Ed-boy collided with the wall and slid to the ground, dizzy and confused. Mario simply slowed his rotation, planting his feet firmly to ground before coming to a halt, facing his opponent. Eddy blinked, trying to steady his vision. To his anger, Mario didn't appear to be the least bit disoriented from his spin attack.

Though slightly off balance, Eddy was not one to accept defeat. He launched another attack against the older man, stepping in a swayed, drunken motion as he tried to right himself while running head on at the more experience foe. Eddy suddenly stopped his run, skidding into a slight crouch before springing upwards, trying to perform a flying kick. Unfazed, Mario crouched down, and once the boy came within striking distance, he rocketed himself into the air. Mario soared right over Eddy's kick, coming at face level with the stunned child. The Italian man then delivered a swift kick right to the boy's face, knocking him backwards in midair.

Eddy smashed against the ground with a painful thud as his sparring partner landed gracefully back into a sparring stance. "Ugh! That hurt!" the short child barked, pinching his nose to check for signs of blood, heaving at the loss of wind from the impact against the floor.

"I've-a worked the same-a sequence with o' you four times all-a ready." Mario groaned. "Yet you still get-a caught by-a the same o' moves every-a time!" Mario sighed and offered Eddy his hand, but the short tempered Ed-boy swatted the gloved hand away and pulled himself to his feet, not eager to be helped.

"I don't get why we started trained again so quickly." Eddy complained. "We only got back to Flipside this morning and all we've been doing is stupid training. I'm tired!"

"You got-a to rest all-a day yesterday. Today, we need-a to train and tomorrow we got to-a be o' out of here." Mario reminded him. "We're-a working on o' schedule here."

"I know, I know!" Eddy groaned, wanting to skip Mario's lecture. "But why are we practicing fist-fighting? I can throw knives and I can run and jump again now that my leg's almost better." Eddy displayed his leg for Mario; his once prominent gash was now just a faded red streak running the length of his shin. "I don't need to do this stuff."

"Eddy, you may-a not always have-a your knifes or o' maybe you might-a bet caught in a close o' combat situation. We've-a been relatively lucky so-a far, but it's-a only going to get-a worse. You need to know-a how to defend-a yourself if o' the time-a comes when you're-a forced to fight fist to-a fist." Mario explained.

Eddy rolled his eyes, hating the feeling of being lectured when he knew he'd come so far already. Then out of nowhere, a blunt object struck him in the back of his head. He winced slightly and grabbed the back of his head, rubbing the spot where the object struck him. Looking at his feet, he saw a single arrow which had been fitted with a rubber ball at the end. "Watch where you're shooting, Sockhead!" Eddy yelled in an enraged tone.

"Sorry Eddy!" Double D called back, firing another shot at Sarah and Princess Peach who busy trying to dodge and counter each incoming projectile.

Sarah glanced over at Peach, slightly jealous of the blonde princess' prowess at this training exercise. Peach, having her hybridized parasol-spear weapon and intangibility powers to act as extra lines of defense from the arrows, was having a much easier time protecting herself than Sarah was, who felt the embarrassing stings of the tiny welts where the safety fitted arrows had struck her.

Suddenly, another arrow zipped past her face and Sarah focused back on the task at hand. _'Ugh! Something like that would get me killed when we're finding a Pure Heart.'_ Sarah cursed herself.

"Pay attention, Sarah! This is supposed to be an arduous task to advance both of your dodging abilities and my aim." Double D grabbed another two arrows and fired simultaneous shots at both of his teammates. Sarah ducked to the side and somersaulted out of the way while Peach opened her parasol, shielding herself from the incoming arrow.

Another two arrows rocketed towards Sarah who dropped to her stomach in order to avoid being hit. Then Double D released a third arrow at Sarah, who had to roll like a log in order to avoid the projectile. The next arrow went to Peach who popped open her umbrella to shield herself. Double D fired three more arrows at Peach, who instead of dodging simply made herself ghost like in order to avoid the stream of weapons whizzing at her.

Feeling his quiver, Double D found it to be nearly empty. He reached into the sack and retrieved what appeared to be the final two arrows. _'I started with precisely forty arrows,' _Double D recounted. _'I've gone through thirty-eight arrows in barely fifteen minutes. Even if I only fired one arrow for every shot, I'd still run out of arrows in a battle far too quickly!'_ The sharp witted boy pondered whether or not he could solve this dilemma. Carrying a second quiver was out of the question. He wasn't near strong enough for that and it just seemed selfish to dump more supplied on Ed, who was already responsible for carrying most of the heavy gear. _'Oh…! This is the most confounding conundrum.'_

Shaking off his concerns, Double D refocused his attention on Sarah and Princess Peach. Taking his first of his final two blunt arrows, he loaded and fired his weapon at Peach. The royal figure simply careened left, opting to evade rather than use her powers or shield.

After loading his final arrow, Double D released his blunt projectile at Sarah's gut. The girl readied herself to pounce to the side, but foolishly tripped over herself, falling flat on her butt. The arrow, now at face level, continued to rocket towards the girl. Sarah gasped; flinching slightly as she instinctively pulled her arms to her face and shut her eyes. Suddenly, she felt her hands began quiver and the warm sensation that she'd come to associate with her powers overcome her arms. Much to Sarah's surprise, she heard the arrow that was supposed to her clash with what sounded like a blunt piece of metal.

"My word, Sarah- how did you…" Double D trailed off.

Sarah opened her eyes and found that she'd forged a large silver shield that was shaped like a concave circle and about the size of her torso with her pixl magic. She grabbed the large, concave piece of metal and studied it with firm interest. Peering at the face of the shield, she saw that the front was etched with golden patterns that encircled the rim of the shield and in the center of the shield, there had been a golden cherry blossom engraved into it. _'Jimmy's favorite flower…' _Sarah mused sadly.

"It's beautiful," she said quietly to herself.

"Sarah! How did you do that?" Peach asked, sounding astounded.

"I don't know." Sarah replied simply, admiring the engraving on the plate.

"Way to go baby sister!" Ed cheered from over by the weight racks. "Nazz! Did you see baby sister create that cool shield?"

"Ed… help…" Nazz heaved, trapped underneath a weighted bar at a bench press station.

"Oops," Ed replied, returning to his position as the blonde's spotter and casually pulling the bar off of his friend as if it weighed nothing. "Sorry Nazz." Ed said earnestly as he racked the bar.

"It's okay, dude," Nazz sputtered, coughing a few times as air flooded back into her lungs. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, or something." She stood up from the bench, stretching her back out as she got to her feet. "Okay, we've gone through squat presses, dumbbell curls, push presses, hang cleans, dumbbell punches, and bench presses," Nazz noted, counting on her fingers. "So like, what do we do next?" the blonde beauty asked her companion.

"Uh…" Ed mumbled to himself, scratching his chin. "Ooh! I know!" He exclaimed with a big grin. "Next we do some front squats with a heavy bar! Oh! And then, we can punch a bag and see how hard we can hit it!" Ed said excitedly. Nazz returned Ed's enthusiasm with a smile.

Nazz, in many ways, envied Ed. Though he wasn't too bright or hygienic; the simpleminded child had such a positive outlook on life and his dopey smile was just plain contagious. She also envied how strong the boy was. Any training he did would only yield marginal results at best because he was already ridiculous strong and coordinated, if not a tad clumsy. Nazz really couldn't have asked for a better strength instructor.

_"__Don't tell me you admire that dope." _Thoreau asked

_'__He's one of a kind.' _Nazz reminded her pixl. _'You can't help but love the guy.'_

A voice then pulled Nazz out of her inward conversation with her pixl. "Hey-a Nazz!" Nazz turned around, looking towards the source of the thick accented voice's call. "Shouldn't you-a be getting some-a cardio or o' evasive training in-a as-a-well?" Mario shouted his junior teammate.

"No! I need to get stronger!" Nazz replied frankly. "I'm going to be a melee fighter, dude! That means that I gotta be strong, or else I'm gonna get hammered out in a real fight. Besides, I'm a cheerleader so I can already do all the flippy stuff." Mario didn't look impressed. Nazz tried to convince him. "I'll get some of that training in later." Nazz promised. "But right now, I've got a few more sets, and then Ed's gonna show me how to box with these babies!" Nazz reached down to the floor and snatched two identical tools.

The items Nazz had procured were a set of brass knuckles, supplied by the always generous Pick Aksz who stated that, "A young lady shouldn't go around punching men… without a pair of these" before promptly handing the girl the bronze colored weapons guaranteed to double the force of Nazz's blows.

Mario was absolutely fine with Nazz using the weapons like the rest, but wasn't totally happy with her lack of regard for the other disciplines of fighting and survival. Finally, Mario gave up and replied curtly, "Just-a make-a sure you do-a your other o' training!"

Mario returned his attention to Eddy. "All-a right, now I'm-a going to-a come-a at you with o' series of-a aerial attacks and-a I expect o' you to-"

Before Mario could finish his instructions, a series of thunderous booms followed by a heavy fit of shaking struck the Flipside gym. Weights began to fall of their racks, weapons clattered against the ground, and pieces of the intricate climbing wall began to topple from the obstacle fitted tower. Cracks began to form in the floor as the shaking agitated the structure of the building. Then as quickly as it began, the quakes stopped.

Mario was taken aback by the sudden disturbance that shook the town, but the rest of the heroes were all too familiar with the quaking sensations. Peach had felt them at her forced wedding and the kids had felt them back on Earth in the cul-de-sac.

No sooner than minutes after the quakes had ended, Merlon and Tippi burst through the doors of the Flipside gym. They looked grimly at the heroes, worry stricken about their faces. "I need to speak with you all, posthaste," Merlon said quickly, before waving for the heroes to follow him and his pixl.

Mario, the Eds, and company followed the old wizard outside of the gym. On the streets of Flipside's second floor, chaos had erupted. The native Flipsiders had gone into a deep state of panic, hustling each other and pointing fingers at the sky as they ran about, screaming at the top of their lungs.

Much to the heroes despair, the black void of nothingness had swallowed up more of this dimension's infinite skyline.


	30. Open for Conversation

_"Edd" or "Double D"? That is the question._

_I've noticed that in most stories about the Eds that I've read that outside of dialogue, the text refers to Eddward as "Edd" and not "Double D". I used to feel so self conscious because I was the one of the few stories that really used his nickname instead of his actual name, but writing out "Double D" just feels right to me. He's rarely if ever referred to as Edd or Eddward by anyone in the show, save for himself, and I feel as though the name "Double D" is more attached to his character and defining of his neurotic personality._

_Or maybe I'm just crazy… meh…_

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Thirty: Open for Conversation

**"Sire, have we… crossed a line?"**

**"No. Our world is better off without those rotten humans. Better yet, I should've slaughtered them all."**

**"Why leave her alive then?"**

**"She needs to be the one to end this nonsense with my boy. When she defies his advances, he'll abandon this foolish pursuit willingly, and then everything shall restore itself to the way it should be."**

**"I feel we've begun something terrible that can't be reversed, my lord."**

**"Cut your nonsense and fetch me a drink."**

* * *

><p>Merlon glanced dejectedly at the scene unfolding out his window. Citizens of Flipside had gone mad, pushing each other this way and that as they ran amuck, scrambling this way and that across the second floor of the inter-dimensional township. He shook his head, pitying the poor residents for the horror they must be experiencing. <em>'This was bound to happen eventually,' <em>Merlon admitted to himself before shutting the blinds inside his house.

"What're you doing?" Double D exclaimed at the old wizard. "They're causing absolute pandemonium out there. Don't tell we're supposed to just sit here and twiddle our thumbs while they're lost in a manic frenzy!"

"I'll work up some explanation later. The townspeople will be fine. They'll simply run back to their homes and hide. They don't have much of anywhere to run to," Merlon explained.

"That's stupid! You're just gonna let all those people flip out and not say anything? You sound like a pretty useless leader to me!" Sarah shouted accusatively.

"Ed, Edd, Eddy, and Mario take priority!" Merlon yelled; raising his voice for what seemed like the first time to the heroes. The group members expressed shock at the old man's outburst, not having taken him for one to turn to hostility to get a point across. The cloaked man then took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "I'll calm them down later; I promise. However, right now I have a duty to impart very important information to the four heroes and their comrades."

"What are you going to tell them? More lies…" Sarah asked flatly.

"I won't lie to them, but they don't need to know the whole truth at the moment," the wizard explained.

"You can't expect to hold them in the dark forever." Princess Peach told him. "They're not dumb. They know something's wrong, even if you refuse to tell them what."

"What would telling them accomplish? More chaos, usurpation…? I think our friend Eddward referred to it as pandemonium." Merlon ruffled his beard, feeling the stress of his job as guardian of Flipside and mentor of the heroes bearing down on him. "When the time comes, I'll tell them everything, but these people don't need that kind of knowledge so soon. They don't need that uncertainty lingering over them…"

Merlon walked over towards his desk, grasped his copy of the Light Prognosticus. He took the ancient tome and flipped it open to the spot where he'd previously marked his place using a single piece of string. "I've been studying the Light Prognosticus, and I've discovered some rather… intriguing passages."

Mario frowned. "What do-a you mean?"

"Well, I've already mentioned to you all how in this text, it speaks of four heroes who will find and unite the eight pure hearts and reverse the void that will consume all worlds. Of course, the text refers to Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom and Ed, Eddward, and Eddy from the planet Earth." The heroes nodded, well aware of this information. "However, I've found some passages in the scripture which describe of others."

"Others? What do you mean others? Is there possibly more heroes we've yet to encounter?" Double D asked with great intrigue.

"Does this mean that there's gonna be more of these nitwits I have to share the spotlight with?" Eddy grumbled. "Cause Ed, Double D, and Chef Boyardee are almost more than I'm willing to share the glory with."

"Well, the Light Prognosticus explicitly states that it is the power of the four heroes, Edward, Eddward, Eddy, and Mario that shall overturn Count Bleck and save all worlds, but it does mentions of others, said to help guide them through their journey to stop the Count and the Dark Prognosticus," Merlon explained. He skimmed down the lines of text with his finger, until he found his place, and then recited: "_'With their path unclouded, on marches the heroes. Behind in their footsteps, several will tread. A golden goddess of noble blood and two girls of ruby and gold.'_"

Nazz, Sarah, and Princess Peach became enveloped in a concurrent stupor, unsure that they'd heard the old wizard correctly. It seemed impossible, but Merlon had just recited it verbatim; a passage with foreknowledge of the three female team members' existence and supposedly their purpose to assist them in the quest to defeat Count Bleck.

"Us?" Sarah murmured, expressing hers, along with Nazz and Peach's, awestruck position on the new revelation.

Eddy however was less than thrilled with the sudden disclosure. "Them?" He shrieked. "What makes them so special? Us guys and Mario are supposed to be the oh-so-special heroes, but the chicks get all the cool upgrades and now they get a prophecy to! What's up with that?"

Mario elbowed the short Ed-boy out of growing frustration, shutting up the more vocal teammate.

Ignoring the child's outburst, the Princess continued to probe Merlon for more answers. "What does this mean for us- me and the girls I mean… and you said your book spoke of others. Who are they? And where are they?"

Merlon shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't answer your questions. The book is vague; I couldn't tell any of you where you'd encounter others to help you, much less, who they are. And I'm afraid they don't say much more of you ladies beyond what I've told you. But for now, I wouldn't dwell on it. Time has a way of making things become clear."

As he finished his advice, Merlon took the large white tome and closed it delicately before setting it back on its shelf, snug between other ancient looking texts and scrolls. "Well, I'm sorry to say I must be off. It's about time the townspeople received an explanation for this series of misfortune." The screams of the Flipside residents had since died down, but outside of Merlon's window, the streets appeared deserted. Just as the old wizard had predicted, the citizens of the inter-dimensional town had all taken refuge in their homes and businesses.

"The last Pure Heart you collected has been returned to its pillar, am I correct?" Merlon asked quickly. Mario nodded in response. "Good, good… If that matter has been settled, then I recommend you retire and get some rest. You'll have an early start tomorrow," he stated lastly before exiting his study.

…

Sarah shook her pyramid shaped tin, listening to the crinkling noise of the various packets intermingling amongst each other in the container. The noise was soothing in a way. The sound of the bombs so near brought an ironic sense of safety and comfort to the girl; after all, these packets had saved her life several times over the past couple of days. The redhead sighed contently, before setting her bomb satchel down next to her shield and new pack which Ed had been kind enough to buy for her. This one was purple too, just like the last one she'd lost in the swamp.

Nazz exited the bathroom, the distinct odor of burnt hair and an indeterminate chemical-fruit hybrid scent wafting off her person. The straightening iron hadn't worked properly and left the tips of her locks singed, darkening her blonde mane. She'd tried applying nail polish and lip gloss, but they both contained a foul, chemical aroma that left her feeling sick, so she washed them off. Unfortunately, despite removing the foul products from her skin and nails, the awful stench still clung to her person. _'So much for touching up my looks,' _Nazz groaned inwardly, tossing the hair iron and beauty products into a nearby trashcan.

Sarah could see and smell the damage Nazz had caused upon herself, cringing at the remnants of her experimental makeup trial. Hoping to comfort Nazz, Sarah began to reassure her on her appearance, stating, "It's not that bad. Honestly, the tips of your hair have a wild look going on! And trust me; all the boys love that chemical smell. It's why they like to bathe themselves in that gross spray deodorant and-"

"You can stop. I know I look and smell gross." Nazz toyed with the singed ends of her hair. "I know I should probably just cut it off, but I don't think I could bear to cut it any shorter." Her hair was already just slightly shorter than her shoulders, and she had wanted to start growing it out before their home got wasted. "It's silly, I'm focusing so much on my hair and nails and all this other dumb stuff. I know it doesn't matter, but… it just feels normal. Y'know?"

Sarah nodded. She did know.

"It just feels right. Like, if I didn't make myself pretty then I'm not really being me anymore." Nazz admitted as she continued to toy with the burnt ends of her hair.

"I know how you feel." Sarah replied. She noticed her right hand had involuntarily begun toying and squeezing her left fingers, some of them had even started to turn blue. She released her grip and sighed. "To think I used to play with Jimmy and get angry at my brother all day. It hasn't even been two weeks, but all the normal stuff I used to do just seems so weird now, good and bad."

"Yah, but it won't for long…" Nazz replied reassuringly. "Everything's gonna be fine. We're gonna get back at those evil dudes, and get home before you know it."

"Yeah," Sarah muttered halfheartedly.

"Yeah- nothing!" the older girl chirped, lightly socking Sarah in the arm. "We're gonna be fine. Cheer up!"

The younger girl chuckled in response, feeling happy that she had someone to confide in. Suddenly, she remembered something she'd been keeping away from Nazz for several days now. After all the comfort and counsel Nazz had offer to her, it wasn't fair for her to be keeping things secret anymore. And… she didn't want Peach to drop the bombshell news on her quite so abruptly. That wouldn't be fair after all her friend had done for her.

"Nazz," Sarah muttered, her lips sinking into a hesitant frown.

"Are you okay?" Nazz asked, noticing the girl's sudden change in demeanor.

"Peach is going to be here in a little bit to explain something to you because I didn't want to tell you myself," Sarah explained. "But that's just not fair of me to give that responsibility to her. You're my friend, and I don't want you to find out what I'm about to tell you from anyone else."

"What're you talking about, Sarah?" Nazz asked cautiously.

"It's… it's about your pixl."

"Thoreau?"

"Yeah, him…" Sarah began toying with her fingers again. "Thoreau… He…" Sarah began stumbling over her words, unsure how to break the terrible news. "Thoreau has to die." Sarah suddenly blurted, more bluntly than she'd hoped.

…

The laughing and yelling had been bad enough; it'd kept him from practicing the Ancient's language and cataloguing attack strategies in the journal he'd purchases. He'd given up on his studies and decided to retire early, but the yelling, now intermixed with unpleasant squelching and crunching, only got louder, prevented him from falling asleep as well. Despite his displeasure, Double D decided not to say anything.

Suddenly, Double D winced as a glob of blue paste splattered against his sheets. He squirmed uncomfortably at the wad of melted sugar paste and spit, unsure whether or not to leave it be or attempt to clean it off his bedspread. Suddenly, a sticky bar of half eaten chocolate hit the side of the boy's bed board. Finally fed up with the noise and mess his friends were making, Double D decided he could no longer remain passive on the issue. The intellectual groaned with displeasure and shouted, "Gentlemen, please! Haven't you eaten enough of that horrendous junk food as it is? You two should be in bed anyways."

Eddy and Ed had spent their evening engorging themselves with all of the strange candies at Flipside's department store. Ed's inn bunk now didn't look so different from his bed back at home, with its messy sheets, assorted food stains of various colors and shades, and crusty comics and wrappers stuck to the sheets and bedposts as if they'd been glued to the surface. The two boys' faces were coated with a hodgepodge of food stains as well, painting their lips and cheeks like rainbows.

"Lighten up, Sockhead!" Eddy chucked, using the lower portion of his shirt to wipe the crumbs and food smears off his face. "You could stand to loosen up without having to go all OCD on us."

Double D returns Ed's comment with a pout, crossing his arms is disdain. "For you information, misters, I've made great strides to overcome some of my more obtrusive habits. In fact, I no longer feel the need to sleep in a labeled environment. After several months of psychological evaluation and careful weaning, I successfully removed all the labels from my personal belongings in my room on Earth."

Ed gasped, immediately assuming something supernatural or otherwise impossible had transpired. "Double D has stolen to identity of his room. Now all of his things have no name and won't be able to apply for a credit score!"

"Ed, that's absolutely ridiculous." Double insisted.

"Like Ed's anymore ridiculous than you," Eddy retorted with a smug grin. "You've done some pretty crazy things yourself, Double D. Like that time you went haywire when you couldn't take a shower."

"Or that time he socked Rolf," Ed shouted, bringing up the unfortunate series of accidents and calamities that led to Double D briefly becoming the school bully without his intention of doing such.

Eddy began cracking up, remembering more. "Or… or- that time he… hahaha… that time he believed those stupid notes we wrote were from his parents and he actually did what they all said!" Ed and Eddy broke out in hysterics, falling onto their backs clutching their guts as they laughed their hearts out. The beanie cap wearing boy simply frowned, trying to hold in his disdain at all of the unpleasant memories his friends were bringing up.

"Yeah, and then he crashed at your place for a whole week and made you his slave," Ed reminded him.

"Ugh… don't remind me." Eddy groaned, his joy ceasing instantaneously. "You made me read you encyclopedias, and wash your clammy feet, and make your… ugh…" Eddy covered his mouth, trying to staunch a gag as he relived that dreaded week of servitude he underwent to make his duped friend feel secure.

Double D chuckled. "Oh come now, Eddy. Sure, I feel for Ed's photo identical handwriting for the first couple of notes, but I knew what you and Ed were scheming the second you made me ask the Kankers for that cup of sugar."

Eddy groaned. "No way!" He shouted, refusing to believe what his friend told. "How? There's no way you could've-"

"My parents have never met the Kankers, and even if they did have some sort of informal contact with the sisters and their family, they would they refer to them in passing as 'May', 'Marie', and 'Lee'." Double D explained.

"But- but- you still did it!" Eddy shouted. "You asked them for sugar!"

"A small price to pay for the guilt I knew you would receive in turn, thereby giving me the excuse to play towards you insecurities for turning me away at my supposed time of need, and leading me to use your good will for a week of revenge including some gracious pampering from a delightful servant," Double D finished his winded explanation, before laying back onto his mattress, content with himself.

"Wow… he got you good, Eddy," Ed said awestruck, a smile still plastered on his face.

Eddy couldn't believe it. All this time, he thought his little scheme had gone unnoticed, but in reality, he'd been the one who'd been tricked and left none the wiser to act of rueful revenge. Eddy, the con artist of the century, had been caught by a con inside his own con! "So, all that over the top stuff, that was-"

"Oh, some of it was habitual tendencies which I would have done anyways, such as the labeling of your belongings, but yes; much of my actions that week were simply to get back at you what I considered to be a heinous tricked." Double D affirmed, looking smugly at his short-statured friend.

Eddy simply gawked at his friend, wide-eyed and jaw agape, in an utter stupor that he'd been out conned by Double D.

"Eddy? Uh… Eddy?" Eddy waved his hands in front of the boy's eyes, but Eddy had no reaction. "I think you broke him Double D."

"Oh for Pete's sake! Come, now Eddy. It was a harmless prank," Double D tried to explain.

"I got scammed…" Eddy breathed his face still awestruck. "I'm the master of scams! How could I be scammed…? I just- How could I…" Eddy sighed and hopped off of Ed's bed. "I need some air," he said simply before exiting the room with a glum look on his face.

After Eddy had shut the door behind him, Ed and Double D exchanged confused glances. "Is he okay, Double D?"

"I'm not sure Ed," Double D replied simply. "I he didn't seem terribly upset that he'd been scammed, but… shock perhaps. Maybe the disbelief just overwhelmed his system?"

Ed didn't seem all that convinced, shaking his head in response. "But he's been tricked like this before Double D, when Rolf gave him the money tree seed. His face turned red and he got angry and became furious and…" Ed began to trail off as he usually did when he tried to focus his attention on a complex idea and long thoughts.

"Yes, indeed…" the highly intuitive member of the trio mused, worried over the mental state of his friend. Something was most certainly wrong with the shortest member of their triad of friends.

…

Princess Peach gave two short knocks against Sarah and Nazz's room. There was a quick response, as Sarah stuck her outside the door. She had a grim look about her face and she was averting her eyes.

Peach raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?" The little red head still didn't look up. The Princess had an idea of what was going on. "Where's Nazz?" she asked, slightly worried.

"I- I told her. I had too." Sarah explained quickly. "She's gone. She's- she's going to take care of it."

…

Nazz looked over the railing of flipside, contemplating what to do next. Sarah had been kind to give her a forewarning, but this wasn't Sarah's business or Peach's. This was not something to be settled with a discussion about right or wrong or destiny. This was her problem and she needed to sort it out herself, with no one else except her pixl.

"You knew about this, didn't you?" Nazz asked tentatively. Up until now, Thoreau hadn't said a word, quite unusual for her normally talkative pixl.

There a brief moment of silence. _"I suppose I did."_ Thoreau replied to her internally. _"I guess I thought if I never brought it up, it wouldn't be a problem. I was deluding myself."_

"You didn't do anything wrong," she assured her pixl.

_"Yes I did. I've shirked my duties as a pixl for the heroes of legend,"_ Thoreau countered, further reprimanding himself.

"It shouldn't be your job to have to die for someone to become stronger."

_"Well right now I'm no better than a parasite."_

"That's not true!" Nazz insisted. "You've done nothing except make me stronger!"

_"But I've been keeping you from your full potential." _Thoreau explained. _"If I fuse with you, you could so much more than just throw fists with your magic. You could briefly boost your strength. You could create foot constructs to increase your kicks' distance. If you train enough, then you could even create clone constructs of yourself."_

"I don't care about any of that! I don't need more power!" Nazz's voice was beginning to break. "You don't have to do this for me…"

_"I want to help you, and if this is the way I must help you, then I'd be honored to do this for you."_

"Thoreau…"

_"I wonder if I'll still see what you see through your eyes," _Thoreau said bitter-sweetly. _"I'll bet you'll do extraordinary things…"_

Suddenly, Nazz felt the burning sensation in her insides that she'd felt the time Thoreau partially merged with her. It wasn't as intense this time, and it went away much quicker than before. As the pain drifted away, Nazz was left feeling a sudden emptiness inside her. She felt cold and alone.

"Thoreau?" she asked hopefully. Still, she knew it wouldn't do any good. Her pixl was gone. She collapsed onto her knees and wept. She pulled her face into her legs, trying to stifle her cries. "I'll make you proud," she shouted through her tears. "I promise!"

…

Eddy hung his head over the railing, his armed crossed as he glumly stared into the abyss that was Flipside's endless sky at night. His arms lay crossed atop the bars and he leaned slightly on the metal poles. After being in Flipside so long, the fear of the endless expanse surrounding the city had become almost nonexistent. The inherent danger of plummeting off the city forever was still present, but Eddy, along with the rest of his companions, had become numb to the danger.

"I just had to fall for his stupid scam," Eddy berated himself. "I'm the master of scams! How did I not see this coming? Ugh!"

The fact this was the second time he'd fallen for an obvious con was humiliating enough. Rolf and Jimmy's money tree scam had already left him extremely embarrassed (not to mention the grounding he received for destroying his room), but the fact he'd been shanghaied yet again without his knowledge wasn't what was eating at him.

"Why am I beating myself up over this?" Eddy muttered to himself. "He's the one who suckered me. He's the one who should feel bad about this not me." The diminutive child didn't feel any more self-assured. "I mean, it's all Sockhead's fault. I mean, I was gonna let him live with me, but he just had to go and screw all that up. His loss!" He felt himself awfully close to tears. "It's all his fault. So what if I'd get a fresh start without Anthony and he'd get to stay in Peach Creek, I could care less about that. It's his loss!" Eddy shouted into the abyss, his eyes misting up.

_'We could have been like brothers. I thought the three of us were inseparable, and now he's gonna leave.' _Eddy told himself simply, no longer holding back the waterworks.

"Eddy?"

"Huh!" Snapping out of his self-pitying tirade, Eddy craned his neck and saw a familiar companion standing in his midst. Nazz's hair was stuck in clumps and her face was red like a tomato. There were trials of light purple streaks running down her face from her eyes. She'd been crying just like him.

"Were you crying?" Nazz asked simply.

"Uh- NO!" Eddy stated firmed, quickly wiping his face with his arm. "Tough warriors like me; we don't cry, babe!" He avowed, puffing his chest out in a display of confidence.

"Okay dude, I believe you." Nazz replied, discreetly poking at his ego.

"But, uh… why were you crying?" Eddy carefully brought up.

"Oh… yeah, that." The girl responded despondently. She wiped her nose and tried to clean off her eyelids. "It's, well… I don't-" Nazz's eyes began to water and tear up.

Eddy realized he'd asked too much. "Oh, jeez! Just- just forget! I didn't mean to- I mean… I get it. It's private. Just- just go and talk about with your pixl, I guess."

Nazz shook her head. "That's just it. Thoreau, he's… he's gone. He's a part of my soul now; he had to die so I could become stronger, or have more powers, or something stupid like that." The girl was no longer crying. She was just stared at her feet, her gaze lonely, empty, and dead. "I got to say goodbye, and I understand, but the fact he had to die… it's just stupid."

Once Nazz's admittance had sunken in, Eddy felt a rush of shame overtake him. Ever since the group of heroes had discovered the first pixl back in Yold Town, Eddy had been eager to express his jealousy for his comrades who had received magical abilities as opposed to him, but the newfound implications behind those superpowers suddenly made his envious outbursts suddenly seem rather cold and cruel.

"Um…" Eddy muttered, managing to get Nazz's attention. "Well, yah know, I uh… I know Thoreau cared about and stuff, and so do I and… and I… yah know…" He stumbled over his words and began to sweat vehemently. "I'm not good at this profound speech stuff. That's Double D's job" Eddy admitted. "But look, I just want you to know, I'm here for you, even if I kinda sound like a dope or a jerk sometimes or whatever. And so is everyone else. And… it's okay to cry."

Finding himself unable to continue talking through his embarrassment, Eddy quickly turned his back to Nazz and began to strut quickly back to the inn, praying that Ed and Double D had already gone to sleep.

"Hey Eddy!" Nazz called out her teammate. Eddy stopped, but couldn't find the courage to face her. "Thanks! You're cool when you don't try so hard." she shouted warmly. "And dude, I'm open if you even need to talk about something. Tough warriors can cry too, by the way!"

The short boy couldn't bring himself to face Nazz, and simply continued walking back towards the inn. Though she couldn't see his face, the blonde beauty knew the Ed-boy had once again begun crying. She smiled, "Night, little dude."


	31. The Pessimist's Route

_Alternate Storyline – I originally planned to make this section a race against time in which Eddy would have contracted a fatal illness from the his gash while he was in the swamp and the only person who had an antidote in this world was… no spoilers, but I'm sure you know who I'm talking about if you've played the game. You can find subtle set-ups for this plot thread in the Merlee's mansion arc where Eddy's injured leg is given a seemingly inordinate amount of attention. One chapter I had planned to write would have been an abstractly written chapter from the perspective of Eddy's delirium with some crazy blends of real events in the story mixed with lucid dreams and hallucinations._

_The above storyline was cut because I was kind of sick of having Eddy left somewhat incapacitated like he was in the swamp arc. I felt two arcs with Eddy in debilitating state were a bit unnecessary. Plus, he's got enough emotional baggage right now without the added weight of a potentially fatal illness. It's interesting to see how my story's evolved overtime. A lot of ideas I originally wanted to do in future chapters no longer seemed attractive once I got around to writing them, but that just leaves so much potential to experiment with new twists to the plot!_

_(On a quick note, I went back and checked how many days had actually passed in my story… As of this chapter, it's only been nine days since the Ed's world ended! I thought it was at least two weeks. All the lengthy journeys I've written must've made it seem longer. Anyways, that's why the Kanker's chapter was changed from two weeks, to one week, because in actually, only seven days when that flashback occurred.)_

_(This will be the last chapter I'll be able to post for at least the next four weeks, as I'm going to be away from a computer and unavailable to work on this story during this part of my summer. It's partly the reason I released the last two chapters within a day of each other, to hopefully tide you guys over until I'm available to work on this story again. I hope to see you all soon!)_

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Thirty-One: The Pessimist's Route

**"****Why do you bury your dead, Timpani?"**

**"****I don't know. It's just what we do."**

**"****Hm."**

**"****What do your people do?"**

**"****We cremate our dead, so their souls can be free, but it's all nonsense."**

**"****Why do you say that?"**

**"****It's all nonsense; burying, burning, embalming… It doesn't matter what you do to the dead; their souls cannot be twisted, altered, or freed by worshiping the body. Funerals are just pitiful parties for the living, awaiting their own inevitable death."**

**"****I don't think so. Funerals are a celebration of life. Or… they should be anyway."**

* * *

><p>Nine days had seemed far too few. Could their lives have really been so normal (or as normal as normal can be when you're living in the Mushroom Kingdom or in Peach Creek, Minnesota) only nine days ago? Now here they were, about to begin their third journey, into the next dimension to search for the <strong>Green Pure Heart<strong>.

None of the heroes knew what to expect from the third door. The red door had led the heroes to a blistering land of dried out grasslands and deserts, while the orange door had placed them smack dab in the middle of a flooded wetland in the middle of a muggy and rainy world. Hopes weren't high that they'd end up somewhere more favorable, but the mission had to go on, so Ed, Double D, Eddy, Mario, Nazz, Sarah, Princess Peach, and their butterfly guide Tippi entered the yellow gateway to the next dimension.

As the group stepped into the new environment, the Eds, Mario, Tippi, and Nazz were immediately reminded of the first dimension they'd visited, specifically the open plain just at the edge of the raised plateau which separated the fertile grassland from the Yold Desert. This grassland though was far more hospitable than the first. The weather here wasn't scorching and dry like in the Linelands or humid and sticky like at Merlee's home in the Gloam Valley. There was gentle breeze soothing the valley and the air was moist and warm, not so much so as to make one uncomfortably perspire.

There seemed to be a far greater abundance of biodiversity, with trees and undergrowth dotting the landscape. To the south they could see nearby forests and mountains caps and to the north they could smell a gentle whiff of salt and see the grass and shrubbery began to grow sparser and coarser; perhaps an ocean was nearby. They could also make out what appeared to be an old town near the border of the horizon. It was a like a pleasant mix flatland from the first dimension and the swamp from the second.

As usual, the swirling void still loomed overhead, making its menacing presence known. It was a tad bigger in this dimension than it was in Flipside or the dimensions prior and covered a slightly larger portion of the sky, making its presence much more apparent.

"It's lovely here," Princess Peach observed. "The weather is perfect here! I can see a town just on the horizon and you can smell the ocean. Oh, and to top it all off, I can't see any dangerous creatures or Count Blecks minions. Aside from that despicable void, it's absolutely serene. I couldn't have asked for a better place to start!"

"Yes-a, well looks-a can o' be deceiving. Don't-a lower your o' guard, despite-a the friend appearances," Mario reminded his comrade. He turned towards Tippi. "Al-a-right, Tippi; do-a we head-a for the sea, or do o' we go toward-a the mountains?" he asked the magical guide of the group.

Tippi hovered uncomfortably for a moment, trying to pick up the trail of the latest Pure Heart. "That's odd." Tippi mused. "It seems to be the Pure Heart- but I can't quite… Hmm… That's peculiar."

"What is it Tippi?" Peach asked curiously. "Do you sense it?"

"Well, I sense something, but it doesn't appear as if-" Suddenly the insect's body crumbled, jolting slightly in midair. Then, the bug was sucked away, zooming through the air against her will by some unknown force. Suddenly, the bug disappeared in thin air, as if she'd been swallowed in nothingness.

"Wait, you forgot to tell us what you were going to tell us!" Ed called out, unaware of the rainbow colored pixl's plight.

"Nerr herr herr herr…! Gosh! This is like, seriously… HIGH-TECHNICAL!" an awkward, cracking voice, similar to that of a boy entering the latter stages of puberty, stammered quickly in the distant, but no one other than the seven humans appeared to be present.

"Who's-a there?" Mario called out, his tone hostile and protective as he raised his fists. "What-a have o' you done with-a Tippi?"

Suddenly, an invisible form began to take shape just a few dozen feet away. A stream of colors began to fill and layer the three-dimensional surfaces as if an artist had taken a paintbrush had begun filling in a figurine he forgot to paint. The newly visible figure was a neon green reptile with large orange lips, a curly tail, webbed fingers, and a two frills and a slight sprout of black hair adorning his head. He stood on two legs like the humans did and was extraordinarily massive, but his hunched back made him appear no taller than Ed. He wore large, thick eyeglasses and a yellow shirt plastered with cartoonish images of star and mushroom power-ups. Cloistered at his hip was a prominent fanny pack, large enough to act as a regular backpack.

"Woah! Look at the size of that frog man." Ed stated incorrectly with a rush of pure amazement.

"Chameleon, Ed." Double D pointed out quickly.

"Gesundheit," Ed responded thoughtfully.

Quickly spitting out Tippi out of his mouth and quickly sealing her inside a mesh cage that he'd pulled out from his fanny pack, the geeky reptilian man began to boast about his new captive pet. "This is the schweetest thing, like EVER! My chat-room friends at are going to totally flip when they see I've collected a rare and never before seen insectoid species of the winged variety with an eight colored pigmentation on its wings, thorax, and antennae. This is like, so… the most HIGH-TECHNICAAALLLLL thing EVER! I mean, aside from the X-Naut: Grodus Chronicles, four part mid-season post-finale special, of course…"

"Hey! You let her go you oversized lizard dude!" Nazz shouted angrily.

"Chameleon!" Double D added redundantly.

"Will you cover your mouth if you gotta do that," Eddy bickered, fanning away 'germs' from his face.

"He's sick Eddy," Ed insisted, much to his far more intellectual friend's annoyance.

"Nerr… Like- I totally found this winged beauty first, so you bozos can just deal with it!" the creature insisted as he shoved Tippi and her cage into his fanny pack, completely oblivious to the fact that the shimmering pixl had been conversing with the group only moments before. "I've gotta bring it home right now. I can't miss this week's episode of the Grodus Chronicles. I can't entrust my digital Recordomeow to tape and episode promise to be so epic and high-technical on the forums! Nerr herr herr…!" With a final chuckle, the chameleon's body began to fade away, absorbing the colors of the scenery until it faded away entirely.

"Tippi!" Mario shouted, worry laced in his voice for his comrade. "Tippi, where-a are you!" the portly man howled, dashing off to the spot where the creature had last stood. But there was nothing there. The red-clad Italian continued to call out the pixl's name, but to no avail. He scanned the ground, trying to detect any footprints in the grass but there were none to be found. Finally, he activated his enchanted vision, hoping his magic sight would allow him to find his companion. But even with his telescopic powers he still couldn't find his dear friend.

"Ed, Eddy, Double D! Activate-a your o' vision abilities, before-a he get's-a away!"

Eddy and Ed complied, but Double D kept his enchanted eyesight deactivated. He knew it was hopeless. "Mario, it won't work. A chameleon's transformation abilities are biological, not magical. Our eyesight won't detect him, even if he's still nearby."

Mario groaned in frustration. _'This can't-a be happening. She o' can't-a be gone! She can't-a be!' _"God damn it!" Mario yelled as he kicked at the ground in an angry furor.

"Anyone wanna fill me in on the heck just happened?" Eddy asked with a seething annoyance.

"Oh man, a kidnapping. Oh the humanity," a rather sad sounding voice lamented. From behind a nearby bush emerged a shimmering blue entity. It was a round creature, covered in tiny spikes like a puffer fish. Aside from spiny contour, its only other notable features were its two cold looking eyes and deep frown plastered on its face. "It's a sad day indeed when that nerd Francis gets his grubby hands on something he wants."

"What're you talking about? What has this Francis done with our Tippi?" Peach inquired, demanding some answers.

"Wait a sec, you're a pixl!" Sarah gasped. "How the heck are you alive? Pixl's are supposed to either fade or fuse with a soul once they're released from their containers."

"Yeah, how come you get to live and the others don't? Who are you?" Nazz added; her anger at losing Thoreau still fresh in her mind.

The spiked fairy scoffed. "Name's Barry, and if you mean those holdouts who sided with the Ancients in the great pixl rebellion, then you should be obliged to know that I'm not one of them. Ergo, the rules of the Ancients and how pixl magic should be used don't apply to me." The seven humans looked at each other in confusion. A rebellion? The Ancients? What on earth was this little blue pixl talking about? "Have to say though," continued the miserable fairy, "I've never seen a pixl like yours. She's not one of the Ancients' pets, but not one of the revolutionaries either. She's different."

"Enough-a of o' this!" Mario barked at the pixl, having heard enough of his irrelevant rambling. "Tell us where Francis has taken Tippi."

"Who, the reptile guy?" answered Barry.

"No, we mean Ed, here…" Sarah grumbled, pointing at her unintelligent older brother who responded with a faint chuckle. "Yes! Of course we mean the reptile guy! Now quit playing games before I beat the living snot out of you."

"That a threat?" Barry asked with a casual disgust.

That did it. Sarah pulled her cherry blossom shield off of her backpack and reared it back menacingly, eager to pound away at the despondent pixl with her metal plated shield. As she charged at the pixl, swinging her metal board with the intent to wound the sarcastic little fairy, Barry's form began to glow. He began to spin around like a revolving top. As soon as Sarah got too close the tiny magical creature, a violet bubble seemed to grow outwards from the pixl's form. It was covered in large, cone-like spikes and it was also spinning in a violent revolution like the fairy it extended from.

Sarah tried to stop herself, but found it was too late to do anything as she tumbled into the revolving shield that Barry had created. Thankfully her shield spared her any serious damage as she collided against the bubble, only to be sent flying backwards. She let out a quick scream, before she found herself safe in her brother waiting arms. The poorly bathed Ed-boy had managed to snatch his sister out of the air before she was collided with the ground or was otherwise seriously hurt.

"I got you baby sister," Ed said in a chipper tone with his usual dopey grin.

"Thanks… Ed," Sarah muttered, slightly embarrassed that she had to be saved in such a manner. He continued to hold her for several more seconds. "Okay Ed, you can put me down now." Sarah insisted, trying to withhold the urge to sock her brother. _'This whole, being nicer to my brother thing is hard,' _Sarah thought to herself.

"Oops, sorry Sarah," Ed replied, putting her back down on the ground.

Meanwhile, Barry had stopped his rotation, and his spiked bubble shield began to shrink, enclosing around the pixl before it was eventually absorbed back into his body. The pixl still looked rather unhappy, but otherwise unfazed from the assault. "I wouldn't try that again. I'm not afraid to hurt humans."

"How did you do that?" Nazz said. "Can pixls actually use their powers?"

"Like your own pixl, Tippi was it, I'm not bound the senseless rules and suicidal magic of the Ancients," Barry explained, vague as ever.

"We don't-a have o' time for-a this! Tell us where-a Tippi is!" Mario demanded, growing more and more impatient by the minute.

"Look, it's real touching and all that'd you go rescue that pixl, but forget it," Barry insisted, trying to encourage the heroes to abandon such a notion. "Whenever Francis gets his greasy hands on something he wants, there's no getting it back. That guy is the nerd to end all nerds. He holes himself up in his private castle, away from all the towns and cities in this world. He's a total shut in; a recluse obsessed with cheesy cartoons, mint comics, rare collectables, and oddly enough: butterflies." Barry let out a long sigh, growing tired of having to enlighten the seven humans. "Point is, you ain't getting her back. Your friend is as good as gone. Even if you did find Francis, he's no pushover despite his status as a nerd. Just go back to where you came from."

"We can't do that. We need Tippi to save this world, all worlds… Don't you see that void?" the Princess pleaded, pointing up into the sky.

Barry glanced up apathetically at the dark swirling vortex that had engulfed a portion of the Bitlands sky. "Yeah, so what." He replied apathetically.

"Let me knock some sense into you, bozo. If we can't find Tinkerbell, then that shit-storm in the sky is gonna kill you, us, and everyone who ever lived. How does that sound?" Eddy added as he grew more and more infuriated, no longer able to stand the fairy's sad and apathetic attitude.

"You know what Shorty? I don't care. I don't care about anything…" Barry muttered, staring off at nothing. After what seemed an eternity without a proper response, the pixl refocused his attention on the heroes. Really, he wanted nothing more than for them to go away. "You really want your friend back, then fine. I'll tell you how to find Francis, but don't expect any help from me."

"That's fine, just-a tell us how-a to o' find Francis," Mario replied, eager for information.

Barry took a breath, and then began his explanation. "Okay, first you gotta head north towards the ocean, but watch out for those castles in the distance. They were abandoned until recently, but some new guy and his army took them for his own and pretty much control off all the land near the coast."

"Can we avoid them?" asked the Princess.

"Unless you want a detour fifteen miles in either direction along the coast, then no," the blue pixl explained. "So you're going to have to make it to the ocean. Once you're there, you'll need a boat to take you across it to reach the next continent. If you just head north across the ocean, you'll find it. The journey is a two day trip on an engine powered boat and an eight day trip on a sail boat. Here's the thing though, there's no major ports on the north end of the continent so getting a boat is gonna be excessively tricky."

"Well what do you suggest we do?" Eddy grumbled.

"Beats me," Barry said callously. "And quit interrupting. So anyways, you got to be careful when you're crossing the ocean because it's infested with a lot of dangerous creatures, and there are rumors about ships being sunken by kraken. Once you reach the continent to the north, you'll find yourself in a huge forest, with a giant tree that reaches towards the heavens at its end. Once you cross the forest, you'll reach a deep ravine, a mile across and five miles deep. After you cross the ravine, you should be the nerd Francis' fortress."

"Anything else," Mario asked, wanting to make sure the pixl hadn't forgotten any crucial information.

The shimmering blue pixl thought for a moment. "Actually, yes there is. The journey to the nerd's castle, that's the easy part. Saving your fairy, that'll be the real challenge."

"We'll keep that in mind. Thank you for your time," Double D replied, offering his gratitude as the group began to head north.

"Whatever." Barry murmured the scholarly Ed-boy. "Hell, if you manage to make it back, maybe I'll give you all a prize. Ha!"

"I wouldn't make bets unless you intend on winning," Double D warned, before he took off after his comrades.

…

His wrists felt raw and red after days of yanking at his chains. One day, he'd woken up in a strange valley, his friends missing and his body aching, and the next minute, he'd been captured by turtles that walked on two legs and spoke like people. And then there was that void… it had been back in Peach Creek and now it was here in this strange place.

The guards were, despite their odd reptilian appearance, surprisingly nice. They made sure he was fed and water, left him a blanket and pillow, cleaned out his waste bucket, and even found his hat and returned it for him. They kept giving him advice about how to speak to their yet-to-be-seen king in case his audience was requested.

But Kevin didn't care about the guards' hospitality or gaining the respect of the king. One way or another, he was busting out of this prison, no matter how many dorks he had to beat his way through.


	32. Siege of the Citadel

**_Originally Posted: July 22, 2015_**

_So, did the beginning of that last chapter just seem like a copout way for me to keep track of the in-universe time and how many characters were currently in the party? Well you'll be surprised to find out that um… well- just get off my back!_

_I'm kidding. It totally was._

_On another note, please __**REREAD CHAPTER THIRTY**__! That whole chapter was a mess and ended up so because I was in a rush to get it finished before I took time off of writing. I hope the rewrites and additions provide more developed emotional conflict and have a less rushed pacing in terms of plot! _

_Also, I have finally removed that horrible fourth wall joke at the end of chapter seven. I find that as my story has evolved, Ed is the really the only suitable outlet for that kind of humor and expressing it blatantly in the story without dialogue just no longer matches the tone of the story and honestly it just looked kind of stupid._

_Finally, as of this chapter, I'm going to start adding the original postdates to my chapters, less for my viewers but more out of curiosities sake for me._

* * *

><p>Ed, Edd n Eddy's Quest for the Pure Hearts<br>Thirty-Two: Siege of the Citadel

**"****What do we do now?"**

**"****I'm not sure."**

**"****My father… he'll find out soon. And this time- he won't spare you."**

**"****I know."**

**"****I don't want you to get hurt."**

**"****Quit worrying. I love you, and as long as we love each other, we'll find a way to make this work."**

* * *

><p>"Looks-a like Count-a Bleck already established an o' army-a here," Mario noted, crouching behind the mottled bush as he surveyed the nearby castle grounds.<p>

"Strange though; they've clustered themselves inside these fortresses. What in the world could that despicable Count have to gain from making his brainwashed minions set up a base like this?" Double D wondered aloud.

The group had sheltered themselves behind a dense patch of foliage near the edge of the four immense stone citadels. The strongholds certainly showed their age. The bricks that formed the walls were cracked, dirty, and crumbling. Several chunks of the walls had tumbled off the structure completely and seemed to have been temporarily filled in by their new inhabitants using pieces of plywood. It appeared that at one point the castle had had several spiraling towers protruding from the roof and from the sides of the walls, but most of them had appeared to have collapsed long ago; the broken remains from those towers appeared to have been repurposed and made to fortify the lower walls and foundations of the four structures. Ivy and moss had begun to calcify and discolor many of the castles' outer walls, turning the grey walls of the fort an unappealing shade of black.

Just outside the castle were battalions of troops making patrols, performing drills, and standing guard along the walls of the fortress. Something about the koopas, goombas, and other creatures present seemed different here, however. Unlike the other minions who'd sworn allegiance to Count Bleck, these henchmen seemed more aware. They didn't have the bloodlust or cold machine like precision of the other underlings. They could be seen laughing, smiling, expressing emotion and individuality like anyone else would.

"Mario, something's wrong here. I don't think these minions have been hypnotized at all," Double D observed.

Intrigued, Peach craned her head out from behind her tree and looked at the troops with an astute eye. "Yeah, they don't seem to be altered in any way. They look… well, normal!"

"But then how in the world could they have gotten here, if wasn't that Bleck guy's fault?" Nazz asked.

"Well, there's-a always the _ever-a so likely_ o' theory that-a they evolved-a here o' naturally," Mario said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he speculated the odds of such an anomaly being next to impossible. "Or, there's-a the more-a likely poss-o'-bility…"

"Which is?" Sarah asked impatiently.

Before Mario could respond, the heroes heard a nearby yelp, followed by a nervous voice stuttering, "I-Intruders… Oh- oh no! It's M-Mario!" a lone koopa with a red shell, pale yellow skin, and narrow green eyes. The koopa appeared to be scared out of his mind. Armed with only a single hammer and outnumbered seven to one, the soldier shook with fright. He held his weapon out defensively, waving it back and forth in a vain attempt to scare off the intruders. "Y-You all, b-b-best surren-render… There's a-a whole ba-batallion out-out there and…" the anthropomorphic turtle trailed off, too petrified to continue his threat.

Mario stood up, knowing he had to defuse the situation quickly before the turtle could alert the sentries nearby. The koopa's eyes dilated and he began to stumble backwards in a panic. "St-Stay back!" he cried and the red capped man approached him. "I-I m-mean it! I'll scream! I'LL SCREAM!" before the koopa could cause any more commotion, Mario lunged forward and delivered a swift chop to the back of the turtle's head. The stuttering soldier's eyes rolled to the back of his head before he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

…

The first thing the koopa noticed as he came to was that his hands had been tied together behind his back. He began to panic, trying to pull his hands free. That was when he noticed to his horror that his body had been fastened to a tree with a thick rope. The poor koopa began to hyperventilate and struggle futilely against his ropes. He wanted to scream, but his lungs felt as though they were on fire. He couldn't breathe! His body began to seize up with terror.

Suddenly, he felt a small hand squeeze his shoulder and begin rubbing his neck in a reassuring way. The koopa saw it was a young girl, perhaps no older than ten. She had white skin like Mario did and fiery orange hair with prominent lips. Slung on her back was a purple pack and shield etched with fine patterns. At her hip was a small pyramid shaped tin. "Please calm down, we're not gonna hurt you," she said reassuringly. "Just take some deep breaths. All we wanna do is ask you a few questions."

The koopa began to slow down his breathing, sucking in a deep gulp of air before forcefully expelling it. He did this repeatedly until his breathing had returned to normal, all the while the tiny girl kept massaging his shoulder reassuringly. As he calmed down, the koopa began to wonder, _'What the heck is a kid doing here, suited up for battle like some sort of soldier?_' That was when the trooper noticed that the majority of the humans in the group were children.

There were three boys, hunched together in a group as they conversed with each other. One was a short boy with stringy hair and a crass demeanor which was made all the more evident by his boisterous voice that irritated the koopa's hearing. He had a peachy complexion and a small patch of freckles on the side of his head. The tiny boy carried a package of knives.

The next boy was around average height for a prepubescent human. His entire head was covered in a tight, black beanie cap with only a few hair protruding loosely out of the back of his hat. His skin was slightly tan and he had and there was a gap in his teeth. The boy appeared be armed with a bow and arrows.

The last boy towered over everyone else in the group, even the adults. He had shaved head and yellowish skin with a dopey grin plastered on his face. Most notably, he had unibrow that made his face extremely expressive. He wore a large green jacket and carried a large axe at his side. There was also a distinct, unpleasant odor wafting from his person that made the koopa feel ill.

There was a thin girl with short blonde hair talking with an adult woman who had long blonde hair slung back in a ponytail. The girl with the short hair appeared to be wearing something on her fingers. Rings, maybe? Regardless, the woman looked surprisingly familiar. Suddenly it hit him. _'Princess Toadstool!'_

It didn't seem possible; the reigning monarch of the Mushroom Kingdom, here of all places? She was almost totally unrecognizable. Her usually long flowing hair was strung back in a tight ponytail. She didn't wear her famous crown and trademark makeup. Her dress was gone too, replaced with a plain grey shirt and long pants. She was almost completely unrecognizable as a symbol of royalty. In his eyes, this was no way for a figure such as a princess to be present as.

_'__Children and a princess, suited up for combat? What in the world is the meaning of this?' _the koopa thought to himself.

Suddenly, he a small portly man obscured his view. There was no mistaking who he was. He had on his trademark overalls, red shirt, and red cap with an 'M' etched in the front. He had petrifying blue eyes, a large bulbous nose, and a well kempt brown mustache. He didn't look pleased in the slightest.

"I'm-a going to-a ask o' you some questions," Mario told the once more frightened koopa in a serious tone. "First of-a all, who do-a you work-a for?"

"W-What?" the koopa stuttered, unsure if he'd been asked a rhetorical questions.

"Answer-a the question!" Mario demanded.

"I am proud member of the 3rd Brigade in the Koopa Defense and a citizen of the Koopa Kingdom. My loyalty is to my king, Bowser the first, as well as the other members of the royal family and council of elders who preside over the kingdom's affairs! Long live King Bowser and may his bloodline be eternal!" the soldier exclaimed with no hesitation or fear in his voice. But as quickly as his confidence came, it left and his stutter retuned once again. "Why d-do you c-c-care anyway. You kn-know all this al-already."

"He's not brainwashed," the Princess said simply.

_'__Brainwashed?' _Now the koopa soldier felt deeply insulted. "My l-love f-f-for my c-country and the royal fam-family is tr-true and st-strong. I'm not brainwashed!" he insisted. "What's the-the matter w-with you, Mario? U-Using children a-as soldiers! Clothing your leader in rags! How can you stoop so low?" The koopa's screams were left largely ignored by the humans as they huddled together and talked in low voices so as to not be heard.

The koopa had had enough! His brothers were out there, oblivious to this strange strike force. He had to warn them. _'They think they're so clever, tying me up. Well, I have an ace up my shell,'_ the soldier chuckled to himself. He began to wiggle his shell as stealthily as he could, hoping not to make any noise and draw attention back to himself, however the group of humans didn't seem to notice or care that the turtle was struggling with his ropes. Suddenly he felt a light thud as a small object dropped from his shell and onto his thigh. It was a black switchblade he'd stashed away in his shell for emergencies; he'd nearly forgotten in the panic of being captured.

Contorting his arm into an uncomfortable twisted position, he just managed to snatch the knife off of his leg and flipped it open. He then began to lightly saw away at his restraints. The noise of the switchblade running against the ropes was louder than the trooper expected and he flinched as the ropes made a sharp tearing noise. He looked back at the humans, sure he'd been found out, but they were still too busy with their own devices to notice him.

_'__I've got to do this fast!' _the soldier told himself. Never taking his eyes away from the group, he began to saw faster and faster at his ropes. It seemed like an eternity; with each stroke of his knife, the ripping sound seemed to grow louder and his heart began thud like crazy, pounding away against his chest like a mad drum. _'Faster! Faster! Faster!" _he chanted inward, he fear growing more and more by the second.

Suddenly, the rope went slack. The turtle bolted up, tripping slightly over his bindings before breaking into a sprint, out of the brush and into sight of the castles and his fellow troops.

"Help! Intruders! It's Mario!"

…

"Help! Intruders! It's Mario!"

The shouts drew the heroes out of their conversation as the spun towards the source of the noise. The koopa had broken from his bindings and had made off in a sprint for the fortresses beyond. He was already too far away to catch, not that it would have mattered. All the soldiers in the area were bound to have heard the screams by now.

"How did he get out?" Double D asked. "I used a specially designed knot that I invented myself. It's just not possible."

"Look at this," Nazz said as she knelt by the loose pile of rope that encircled the tree. She fished through the fibrous materials and retrieved a black switchblade with sawed teeth.

"I told-a you we-a should've searched-a his o' shell!" Mario groaned, angry that they'd missed such an obviously concealed weapon.

"Hey, if you want to cop a feel of a turtle, that's good for you, but I sure as heck ain't doing that!" Eddy retorted. "I'm no idiot; those shell things are like clothes and I am not stripping another dude!"

"Does that mean we have to take off out clothes, guys?" Ed asked, misreading Eddy's complaint.

Sarah slapped her forehead in frustration.

"We don't-a have o' time for-a this," Mario shouted. "We're-a going to-a have o' battalions of troops on-a our tail in-a few-a minutes."

"Then let's get out of here!" the Princess insisted. "If he's really here, then we're going to end up head to head with his army! We should just avoid this place altogether."

Mario groaned, lightly tugging at his hat in frustration. This was fine mess. If they ran, there'd be no guarantee they'd escape the army and they'd have to find a new route to the coast, and there was simply no time for that. They'd have many days of traveling before they reached Francis' fortress, and then they'd have to begin their search anew with Tippi to find the Pure Heart, and they were already on an unknown deadline as it was! They couldn't afford any more backtracking. They could try battling their way through, but then again they had no idea how many sentries there were. Could they really fight them all?

"Mario? Mario what do we do?" Sarah asked, nervously eyeing the castle in the distance which seemed to be abuzz with activity.

Mario sighed. "We can't run, we'll-a lose too much-a time…" he decided. "But-a we can't-a fight-a the whole o' army either."

"So then what do we do? Those are our only two options," Double D pointed out nervously.

"We-a take out their-a king," Mario said in return.

…

The koopas and goombas had readied themselves for battle. Some had perched themselves on the walls of the fortresses while others had readied themselves on the fields outside the citadels. Many koopas had armed themselves with clubs or maces whiles others prepared themselves for hand to hand combat. Some koopas readied themselves to be used as projectiles, ducking into their shells to become a large blunt cannonball to be spun at their opponents. Many goombas had fitted themselves with spiked helmets and other various armors. A select few troops had been fitted with wings.

Just as they moved into their positions, several arrows fired from the shrubbery just outside the castle grounds. One arrow had lodged itself in a leg of a koopa and another ricocheted off the helmet of goomba. The injured soldier was removed from the battlefield as the first platoon of troops charged at the nearby patch of trees and bushes.

As they neared the location of unidentified assailant, a swarm of knives erupted from a different patch of shrubbery just nearby. Two knives lodged themselves into a single turtle soldier, one in his leg and the other deep in his shoulder. Another knife had serious cut the leg of a goomba while two more missed in their entirety. They too had to be carried off of the battlefield.

"Over there!" one soldier cried, pointing to the patch of grass from which the knives had erupted from. The first unit changed their target and ran off to the source of the knives while a second team was charged with finding the archer.

When the second group of soldiers finally reached the source of the first couple of arrows, they found the patch of foliage deserted. As they scanned the immediate vicinity for the archer, the troops were blinded by a sudden burst of black smog, followed by a sharp crackle and several piercing screams. When the smoke cleared, it was revealed that several soldiers were lying weakly on the ground, twitching in pain, but appeared for the most part, uninjured.

"The hell…?" muttered one of the uninjured soldiers.

Another soldier tried to tend the wounds of the fallen koopas and goombas, but was greeted by a nasty shock as he tried to touch the body of one of the injured. "Fuck!" the goomba who tried to assist the hurt cried. "They fuckin' shocked us! Damn it!" the foul mouth goomba shouted.

Suddenly, two knives flew by the platoon, missing the soldiers, but stunning them nonetheless. It had come from a patch of woods even farther away from the castles than the one they were standing in. The knife thrower had switched places too.

Nearly simultaneously, a barrage of arrows flew by the first platoon who was busy scouting a different area for the knife thrower, injuring one soldier in the process. A third group of troopers was called in assist with the search, but they made negligible progress in their search before they too were bombarded by veil of thick smoke followed a sickening crackle of electricity which incapacitated several more soldiers.

…

It had to be the biggest castle. Mario knew in his heart that the king of the koopas would settle for nothing less as his residence. With quick and well-performed back flip, the red-capped man entered the second story window with relative ease. Throwing a rope down, the Princess and Nazz shimmied up the side of the building and into the fortress. Ed had to fastened to the rope and pulled up into the window with great difficulty. For all his gusto and prowess, the dimwitted Ed-boy still could not manage his fear of heights.

"Too high for Ed! I need to go down now!" Ed exclaimed as he flailed in the air, waving his arms in fright as he stared maddeningly at the ground.

"Shut-a up!" Mario shouted as he gave another forceful pull of the rope. Peach and Sarah, standing behind Mario, grabbed the slack and helped to hoist the terribly heavy boy into the building.

"How much does this boy weigh?" Peach asked with a huff, her facing turning red and glistening with sweat. "He doesn't look obese, but… oof!" the Princess flinched as the rope tugged in her hands.

"Dude, chill! You're shakings only making it worse!" Nazz shouted the dangling Ed-boy.

"Shut-a up!" Mario insisted once more. Ed's screaming and flailing was already a magnet for attention, but the added vocals from Nazz and the Princess would only make things worse.

With a final pull, the three heroes hoisted their large, smelly teammate into the building where he landed with a resounding thud. The three humans collapsed from exhaustion, all but drained from lifting their friend onto the second floor.

Ed gave a sincere look of concern to his winded friend and asked, "You guys okay?"

"We're…" Nazz gasped, pulling herself to her feet with a deep huff of air. "…yeah." She finished, skipping over the rest of statement, too tired to articulate what she wanted to say.

"Sorry guys," Ed frowned, knowing he was the cause of their weariness, despite not having the clearest concept of why. "Someday, I will learn how to fly and become Bird-Ed, so that way I can use my wings to carry myself into windows!" he promised to friends, hoping to compensate for their troubles.

"That's very sweet Ed, thank you," the Princess replied, humoring his silly vow.

"You're welcome," Ed replied. "I am a gentlemen, says Ed about me who is Ed."

"Alright, let's-a pull it together," Mario reminded the group, ending the brief breath of lighthearted banter. "We need-a to find o' Bowser, and-a quickly."

"I can't believe it your idea worked, dude," Nazz admitted to Mario.

"I just-a suggested a diversion-a tactic while o' we sneaked-a in; it was-a Double D's plan," Mario reminded the young girl. Truly, the mind of that boy was wizened beyond his years and Mario greatly admired the boy's genius. His plan had worked flawlessly, with the distraction of arrows, knives, and bombs drawing the majority of Bowser's troops from the castle so they could sneak in the back undetected. "Still, there's-a no telling how-a long before those o' men realize-a that they've-a been duped," Mario pointed out. How long could they have? It'd already been nearly an hour. Maybe an hour more; no, maybe not even a half hour… At any rate, time was of the essence.

"Let's-a go," Mario said, "While-a we still-a have the element of-a surprise."

"Right," Peach replied as Nazz nodded and Ed gave a faint, "Mm-hmm!"

The fortress was all but deserted which Mario was grateful for. They'd only seen two soldiers pattering about across the halls, perhaps looking for spare weapons or reinforcements, but they were otherwise alone. Eddy, Double D, and Sarah's distraction tactic had done the trick, creating a strange lack of disturbance that gave the heroes time to observe the castle and take in its condition.

The walls on the inside of the citadel were almost as gross looking as on the outside. The inside had been spared some weather damage though, and it looked as if the newly housed koopas and goombas had made some attempts to clean up the old structure, pulling ivy and moss off the walls and fixing up some of the more crumbling areas of the old rooms with a quick drying cement recipe. Still, the ruin was definitely in a state of disrepair and could be barely considered livable.

Still, the new residents had seemed to find various ways to settle into their new homes. The walls had been decorated with red insignias and Koopa Kingdom propaganda of various natures. There were sheets and empty shells strewn across the floors and some crude wooden furniture had been constructed for living spaces. As they scanned the halls, Nazz made a troubling discovery. "Dudes, you- you might wanna look at this," she said uncertainly.

Scribbled loosely onto a wall was a simple chalk drawing. It looked like two little mushrooms with smiley faces drawn between two bigger mushrooms, one with red lips and another with a spiked helmet on. There was no mistaking it. It had been drawn by a child.

"Goodness gracious, there are children here!" Peach gasped, covering her mouth with her hands in shock.

"I don't wanna fight other kids, you guys," Ed protested, his empathy for the precarious situation evident despite his low IQ.

"What do we do now, Mario?" Nazz asked nervously.

Mario sighed in disbelief. This situation was becoming more a more dangerous by the second. The last thing he wanted was for innocent women and children to get caught in the crossfire of any fighting. "We keep-a moving. But, keep-a your eyes-a peeled for civilians and o' don't attack-a anyone who-a is-a not a soldier or who doesn't-a attack-a you first." Mario instructed, trying to reach a proper balance between morality and duty for their situation.

_'__The most I can do is hope that monster at least had the sense to move the women and children away to a secure location,'_ Mario decided for the time being.

As the four continued onward, they found more wall drawings made by resident children as well as other murals constructed by more artistically attuned adults made for the glory of their monarchy. One room was even decorated with a life size silhouette of the king himself. It was rather caricaturist in its simplicity, but it sent a chill down Nazz's spine. Bowser's image looked nothing like any koopa she'd ever seen.

"Woah! It's like a giant reptilian monster movie straight from Japan!" Ed gaped, impressed by the monstrous appearance of the king's red profile. Suddenly flooding with thoughts of his favorite movie monsters, he began to describe all the horrible things he imagined the king would have, acting out each feature as he described. "I'll bet he has terrible slashing claws. Oh, no- no…! He's got spiky chains wrapped around his body. No, wait! He's a horrible fire breathing mutant from another dimension!"

"Ed, stop it! You're scaring me with that kind of talk. Besides, that's just a bunch of movie bologna anyways," Nazz insisted, trying to convince herself the terrible monarch wouldn't be as scary as Ed imagined him.

"Actually, he's not far off," Peach replied.

"What?" Nazz choked, hoping she'd heard wrong.

"He's-a strong, he's-a covered in spike, and he's-a got o' the ability to breathe-a fire. It's o' genetic ability found-a in-a some o' koopas, but-a the royal-a family's bloodline makes-a their fire ability a lot-a stronger," Mario explained, not sparing Nazz or Ed any of the gruesome details surrounding Bowser's abilities. _'Better they know now than be unprepared anyway,' _Mario decided.

"That's nuts, dude," Nazz said in disbelief.

"So cool…" Ed said in response to Bowser's description.

Despite their head start and element of surprise, King Koopa was nowhere to be found. Not in the weapons storage, not in the dining hall, not the housing areas, and not even in what appeared to be the makeshift throne room. It had been nearly an hour since the plan had set in motion. They could already hear the sounds of frustration outside. More and more troops had begun reentering the castle to have their wounds attended to; there was no way the four humans could stay hidden forever.

"We're never going to find Bowser. He might not even be in this castle," Princess Peach reminded Mario.

"Well, what're we supposed to do, check the other three and hope for the best?" Nazz replied with a sarcastic scowl.

"No, there's four castles, Nazz," Ed reminded his friend.

Nazz groaned, her frustrated frown curving even lower. "Ed, we're already in the fourth castle! Four minus one is three left to check," She said simply, trying to maintain her composure.

Ed appeared to become even more confused, his brow furled and his pulled into a slight pout as he thought over the math in his head. "But if this is the first castle, then how come it's number four?" Ed pondered quizzically.

Nazz mashed her teeth together in an effort to keep from screaming.

Princess Peach was livid at the girl's screaming, as if she wasn't even aware they were in an enemy's fortress. "Both of you quiet, before we get-"

"Mommy!"

Before anyone could say or do anything else, Mario had grabbed his three teammates and practically threw them into the nearest doorway, quickly shutting it as quietly as he could and giving a silent command for the others the stay still and be quiet. From outside the door, they heard the sound of footsteps becoming faster and faster, perhaps running.

"Mommy!"

"Oh, my baby! Oh thank goodness!"

They footsteps stopped and the humans began to hear faint sobs and sniffling from the other side of the doorway.

"I told you, when the alarm goes off, you're supposed to head to central chamber."

"I forgot, and I couldn't find you, and it was scary! I saw a window open, and a bunch of soldiers were bleeding outside! Is daddy okay? Is he bleeding too?"

There was brief moment of silence, perhaps the mother was taking in the shock of what her child had just described to her.

"I'm sure your father is fine. Now please, let's just go to the safe room, before we get in trouble."

Suddenly a third voice joined the first two, a deep, booming voice that spoke with authority. "Ma'am, what're doing? Don't you know you're supposed to be in the central room with the other civilians."

"I'm sorry. I lost my daughter, and I had to find her. What's going on? She's telling me that some of the men are someone mentioned and something about Mario."

The heroes weren't able to hear the rest of the conversation as their mustached leader silently caught their attention and directed the rest of the team to back slowly away from the door and follow him.

The four humans had found themselves on a small platform wooden platform with a series of spiraling steps that descended in a dank, stony chamber, covered in cobwebs and saturated with thin puddles of black water. Once they reached the ground, they found that the circular basement had eight steel doors which circled the room, each one fitted with a single, tiny open window adorned with steel bars.

At first, the dungeon seemed to be empty, but the four soon realized that they had company in one of the cells. A single, male voice emanated from beyond the door, groaning angrily and muttering a string of swears to himself. He sounded as though he was preteen as there was a slight crack in his voice.

"Why would they lock up a kid?" Princess Peach asked in slightly furious tone, rather displeased with the notion of putting of child in confinement.

"Maybe he's a trouble-a-maker," Mario guessed based on the language. "Sounds-a like he did-a something to o' earn himself a time in-a lockup."

"Hey, who's out there! I can hear you, you buncha dorks!" the voice screamed.

Suddenly, Nazz and Ed blinked in recognition. That voice; it could only be-

"No way!" Nazz suddenly bolted, and ran up to the locked cell. The window was too high up fo her to stand and see through, so she grabbed on to the metal bars and hoisted herself up so she could see inside of the prison cell. She had to be sure it was him.

Struggling in his chains was a dirtied boy with neatly trimmed red hair, save for a small patch near the top of his forehead. He wore a torn green long-sleeved shirt and black shorts. His outfit was completed with a red baseball cap that he wore backwards. He had a prominent chin and appeared to be relatively fit. It was him!

"Kevin!" Nazz shouted from the window, suddenly tearing up at the sight of one her friends from the cul-de-sac.

"Nazz!" Kevin shouted back in disbelief, pulling against his chains in a vain attempt to get closer to his friend. "Wait, how're you here? How'd you find me, man?"

"It's- it's a long story," Nazz replied with a strange mixture happiness and sorrow. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of this cell, dude," she promised as she let go of the window bars, dropping out of Kevin's view.

"Wait, babe! What are you talking about?" Kevin asked, now tugging far more furiously at his chains.

Kevin's answer came as a bright flash of blue light that shimmered through the slits of the lone window to this cell, followed by a loud clanging noise as something stuck the heavy, iron door of his prison. The door came crashing to the stone floor with a loud, reverberating thud revealing Nazz standing in the doorway. Her hands were balled into fists were both glowing a bright iridescent blue. _'Did she just knock down my door?' _Kevin thought to himself with slight disbelief.

Pulling herself together, the heroine rushed over to her dazed friend and knelt down beside him. His wrists looked raw and scabbed over, probably from yanking non-stop at his chains. "Don't worry dude, I'll have these gone in a second," Nazz promised. She grabbed his chains just below his wrists and let her magic surge through fingers. She could feel the metal bindings twist and bend underneath the pressure before the finally snapped to pieces. Bits of broken chain links fell to the ground and clattered against the stone floor.

Nazz let out a deep remorseful sigh as she stared at the broken bits of metal. It still felt a bit wrong, but things were just so much easier when she was using Thoreau's magical boost. _'Mario or Ed could have just as easily knocked the door down. And these chains, Ed could've just used his axe.' _she tried to reason to herself. But then again, she knew there could come a time when she wouldn't have the luxury of handing responsibilities over to her teammates. _'Why do things have to be this way?'_ she asked herself, knowing her question may never have answer.

"Sorry about the bits left on your wrists," Nazz apologized, glancing at the irritated skin still stuck beneath the remains of his cuffs. "If I tried breaking the cuffs, I could've smashed your arms to bits, but I'm sure we can remove those later when we-"

"What's your problem man?"

Nazz was shocked at Kevin's sudden outburst. She immediately averted her eyes to his face, but in an instant she'd wished that she hadn't. Kevin's face was a deep scarlet color and his mouth was contorted into a tight, tooth-bearing scowl. Sweat had begun to form on his face and his eyes were staring daggers as his liberator, full of rage and mistrust. He was clearly embarrassed, but the sight of the hate and anger burning in his eyes was all that Nazz could focus on.

"I could've gotten out of here! I didn't need your stupid help," Kevin insisted. "Do you think I'm weak, is that it?"

"N-no- Kevin I-…" Nazz almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was on the verge of tears.

"Well, just beat it! I can take care of myself, and I don't need anyone's help." Kevin stood up and walked past Nazz, refusing to even so much as glance at his friend. "I'm gonna beat my way outta here, find my bike, and then I'm gonna-"

"Now-a hold up-a a second, you little-a brat!"

Kevin found himself stuck in his tracks as Mario simply grabbed his arm, keeping him fixed where he stood by the sheer force of his grip. Needless to say, Kevin was befuddled. The man stood no taller than Eddy and appeared slightly overweight at that. His accent was ridiculous and his outfit was also extremely goofy. The man clad in overalls, a red shirt, and a red cap with a letter M for its insignia. And yet, this freak with the weird clothes and bushy mustache was somehow keeping him in place!

Kevin tried hopelessly to tug away. "Let go of me, you ugly little-" His tantrum was suddenly cut short as Mario forcefully grabbed the stubborn boy by the collar and dragged him to eyelevel. Though he was now very much intimidated, the boy kept as angry a scowl as he could muster.

"You could-a use some-s discipline, you-a little hellion!" Mario shouted, his voice becoming far more menacing and deep with each word.

Mario had only heard snippets of descriptions about Kevin before finally meeting him in person and the kids' descriptions of him had been… varied at best. None of the Eds had said much anything positive about Kevin. Eddy called him a "showoffy jerk" whom he had to smack around to straighten out, though Mario never really took the second half of his description to heart. Ed had called Kevin a loud and mean person who liked to use his fists a lot. Double D described him as a brute whom held a rather high opinion of himself due to his athletic stature and various accomplishments, and while the intellectual Ed-boy tried to add a few more redeeming qualities to Kevin's description, none of them seemed to carry any real weight. Mario had never really heard much talk about the other cul-de-sac kids from Sarah, but while it seemed the two shared some common ground regarding the Eds (or at least used to) they weren't exactly friends.

Nazz on the other hand had lavished about Kevin. She'd said he was cool, strong, and fun to hang out with. She did mention he had a bit of a temper, but painted that trait as more of an occasional slip of the tongue more than anything else. But now… now Nazz was sitting alone in Kevin's dank cell, facing away from the group with her head hung in shame because of this boy's occasional slip of the tongue.

Well Mario now had his own opinion of this little punk, and it was becoming worse and worse with every second. He continued to glare at Kevin, his angry gaze slowly breaking the boy's overconfident, angry façade. Suddenly, a jolly shout suddenly broke their stare down.

"Hiya Kevin!" Ed shouted, waving his axe in greeting. Ed had a dopey grin on his face like usual, yet Mario could see the subtle unease behind the boy's face. A twinge of discomfort echoed through the boy's salutation. He seemed happy enough, but he clearly wasn't relaxed being around this ill-tempered boy.

"Zip it, dork!" Kevin shouted instinctively. Ed's smiled faded instantly and fell into a sad, drooping frown.

Kevin suddenly twisted his head around towards Nazz. "What the heck did you bring the dork for?" he shouted, seemingly insulted at the large Ed-boy's presence. "And who the hell is she?" Kevin added, pointing towards Peach whom up until now he hadn't even acknowledged.

All of the sudden, Nazz didn't seem do depressed or defeated anymore. Her posture straightened and her head tilted back up. She stood up, and turned around. Her expression, which had appeared so defeated and broken only moments before had morphed into one of rage and fury, greater than even Kevin's had been only moments before. The girl who'd been insulted and broken by the boy who she'd freed had vanished.

Mario relinquished his grip on Kevin. Something told him his services would no longer be needed.

"Who is she?" Nazz responded, her voice rising higher and higher with each syllable. "Who is she! She's one of the most helpful and kind people I've ever met!" Nazz began to stomp from the tiny cell, towards Kevin. "And if I hear you call Ed a dork one more time, I will personally beat you up myself!"

Kevin looked shocked, but also somewhat angry. "Where's all this coming from, babe?"

Though she was still several feet away from Kevin, Nazz reeled her arm back and balled up her fist. Suddenly, her fist glowed yet again. As she threw her fist forward, a glowing ball of energy shot out of her hand, shaped like a fist. It shot forward through the air, making contact with the boy's face, and sending him flying onto his back.

Kevin rubbed his cheek, in disbelief of what just happened. That strange blue fist; it felt just a real as a regular fist and so much stronger too! _'What the heck happened to Nazz?' _Kevin thought.

"Babe…"

"Don't call me that! I've had it with you!" Nazz bellowed, pointing her finger accusingly at the boy with the ball cap.

"Mwuahahahaha!" a deep baritone laugh echoed.

Mario froze in place. He knew that laugh…

"Can it, dork!" Kevin shouted at Ed.

"Wasn't me," Ed replied, holding his hands up as a general sign of surrender.

"Oh please. Don't stop for me," the voice said with a chuckle. A door three cells away suddenly swung open and a long, towering shadow slowly emerged from a doorway. As the unseen person moved, loud booming footsteps were heard pounding against the floor. "After all, things were just getting interesting."


End file.
